Fraternity-Testvériség, 1969 (47. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1969-12-01 / 12. szám
ALDEN PALMER The Esaus And Their Birthrights The old testament tells a sad story of how Esau traded his birthright for a simple meal of pottage and lentils. Esau paid a high price. Of course, he was tired and worn from hours of tramping through the woods and fields, hunting. Still, one must think he was either a glutton, or a little addled. Otherwise, how could he have made such a bargain? So we deride and condemn Esau. But Esau, today, would have many companions. And if he was a little daft for the moment, making a deal that handicapped his life, what about his brothers today? II Right now there are many men and women who are selling their birthrights. They are, for instance, sitting before the TV, as time and opportunity fly past. Nine-tenths of today’s programs are froth and frippery. There are comics with their ancient, rehashed jokes. There are westerns, with their hang-bang, blood- blood thrillers. And there are long-haired mod music hounds, beating out rhythms straight from the jungle, yelling all the while. With this stuff many spend their entire evening— half listening, half dozing. And so the evenings pass— Time—the priceless and most precious gift of God. Life itself is being thrown away. All given for a mess of red pottage! III Another thing: Why do so few life underwriters work on Saturdays? Oh, I know the answers—all so plausible: “It is hard to find prospects in on Saturdays,” “Folks don’t like to talk about life insurance on Saturday,” etc. Nonsense! When and on what day do prospects like to talk about life insurance? The truth is that it is the plain and simple business of the life underwriter to find ways to get people to listen. That is why he gets a relatively high commission. If it were easy to find listeners, then the underwriter would be paid the usual 5 to 10 percent, such as realtors and others get. It all depends on the life underwriter and how well he can develop contacts. 1 know an underwriter who has an average of at least one good selling interview every Saturday. This in a county of 40,000. From that one weekly interview— while many were relaxing—he placed over $200,000— half on new prospects. No! The real reason for not working Saturdays is that there is some attraction such as games, races—you name it—the underwriter wants to see. And all are eating the pottage that Esau bought. All are selling their birthrights. IV There are others who waste their evenings in card parties, theatres, social gatherings and sports events— two or three nights every week. They, too, have a reason: “Every one should have time for relaxation.” “He should have relief from the hard day’s work.” “One needs to get his mind off business.” I know, of course, that selling life insurance is hard work. More, it takes courage to face turn-downs and the barrages of NO. It is truly tiring. Just so, Esau’s hunting was tiring. Said he to Jacob: “Feed me, I pray thee, with the same red pottage, for I am faint .. . Behold, I am at the point of dying. Of course, it’s tough. No joking about it. At such a moment, if Esau had had a TV set, he would have sat in his easy chair, resting; thus preparing himself for another hard day of hunting. Still, he would have lost his birthright. V Wasting time in frivolous reading is another way to trade for a mess of red pottage. I know an otherwise intelligent and able life underwriter who, when he gets the evening paper, turns at once to the so-called “comics.” He reads each strip carefully, now and then smiling. Next he turns to the sports pages. That uses up at least an hour. But he is a real sports expert. Ask up at least an hour. But he is a real sports expert. Ask him who pitched for the Giants against the Dodgers on June 27, 1962 and he will give you the answer exactly. He pays for a little over a quarter million every year. He could be a million-dollar producer, if he cared enough. Think of the good he could do his family and his community, if he used that hour profitably! For if that fine man would just spend an hour a day studying, he would double his production quickly. But he likes his “morsel of meat.” And so he gladly sells his birthright. VI What is this thing called birthright, which is so freely traded away? Why it is the right and privilege to use that time God gave us, for us to make something; worthwhile out of ourselves, out of God’s own images. Birthright is the right—and the obligation, to provide a good home for one’s family and to give his children a fair start in life. As E. C. Stoman wrote, “Worth, courage, honor—these indeed your sustenance and birthright are.” More than this, the underwriter’s birthright is the right and responsibility to build an economically strong community through making homes safe and secure. For only the life underwriter understands fully the value of human life. Only he knows how suddenly such values can be utterly destroyed; how in the snap of a finger—this very moment—scores and scores that were counting on long and happy years of companionship, are no more. Too many leave overwhelming financial problems that must be faced by untrained widows and children. Such is the wonderful birthright of the life underwriter! — Reprinted from Fraternal Monitor 17
