There are moments in Scripture where God holds up two lives side by side and asks us, “Do you see the difference?”
Pastor James Oddo from New Orleans, Louisiana took us straight into that contrast: Esau and Jacob—two nations in one mother’s womb—and he showed us how a single decision can reveal what someone truly honors. This message wasn’t about personality types. It was about values. About what we respect. About whether we live for what’s immediate… or what’s eternal.
And for every believer in Garland, TX, and in Rowlett, Wylie, Murphy, Plano, and Richardson—across Dallas County, Collin County, and Rockwall County—this word lands right where everyday life is lived: at the intersection of appetite and assignment.
One Mother, Two Nations: The War Inside the Womb
Pastor Oddo began with Genesis 25:21–28, where Rebekah feels the struggle inside her and God answers:
“Two nations are in thy womb… and the elder shall serve the younger.”
Same house. Same upbringing. Same opportunity.
But two different spirits at work.
Esau is described as cunning—a man of the field. Jacob is described as plain—a man dwelling in tents.
Pastor brought out something powerful in the Hebrew language:
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Cunning (yâda‛) carries the idea of knowing, discerning, learning by experience—skilled at navigating life.
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Plain (tâm) carries the idea of complete, wholesome, upright, morally innocent—integrity, not image.
In other words:
The cunning know how to hunt and strive.
But the plain know how to see ahead to the true value of a thing.
The Trade That Exposed the Heart
Then we hit the sobering moment in Genesis 25:29–34: Esau sells his birthright for a single meal.
He’s hungry, tired, and short-sighted—and he says, essentially, “What good is my birthright to me right now?”
And Scripture’s verdict is blunt:
“Thus Esau despised his birthright.”
Pastor Oddo’s line cut through the noise:
YOU DO NOT GET WHAT YOU WANT—YOU GET WHAT YOU RESPECT.
So many people pray for blessings they do not honor.
So many want favor without reverence.
So many want spiritual authority without spiritual appetite.
And the lesson is clear: People who show no honor receive nothing of lasting significance.
“I Have Enough” vs. “I Have All Things”
Pastor Oddo also took us to Genesis 33:8–11, where Jacob is reconciled to Esau. Esau says, “I have enough.” Jacob says, “God hath dealt graciously with me… I have enough,” and yet Jacob is living from a different framework—because Jacob has learned how to value what’s sacred.
The message highlighted a striking contrast:
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Esau had “enough” in the way a carnal man measures life—plenty, abundance, stuff.
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Jacob, through surrender and covenant, ends up with all things that matter—legacy, blessing, promise, calling.
That’s not prosperity talk. That’s priority talk.
Appetite Reveals What We Worship
What we chase when we’re tired.
What we reach for when we’re stressed.
What we trade away when we feel empty.
That’s what Pastor Oddo put his finger on.
Because this is the danger: the profane spirit doesn’t always look evil. Sometimes it just looks urgent. Sometimes it looks like “just this once.” Sometimes it looks like “I deserve this.” Sometimes it looks like “I’m exhausted.”
But the plain life—the life of integrity—keeps asking:
What is this moment costing me?
Bethel: The Plain Man Recognizes the Gate of Heaven
In Genesis 28:10–22, Jacob lays down with a stone for a pillow, sees the ladder, and wakes up with holy awareness:
“Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.”
He doesn’t treat it like ordinary ground. He marks it. He names it. He honors it.
That’s what “plain” looks like biblically: not flashy, not loud—just reverent.
A plain person recognizes holy moments… and doesn’t call them common.
The Profane Spirit: When the Soul Is Traded for the Moment
Pastor Oddo connected Esau’s story to the warning in Hebrews 12:15–17:
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Don’t fail of the grace of God
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Don’t let bitterness root up and defile many
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Don’t become a fornicator or profane person, as Esau
Esau wanted the blessing later, but Scripture says he “found no place of repentance”—not because God hates mercy, but because Esau treated sacred things like they were disposable until consequences arrived.
That’s why Pastor leaned into this reality: bitterness and resentment distort revelation. If someone aims at the worst, and asks, “How do I get what I want?”—the spirit operating within them answers.
So we don’t just need behavior change. We need heart healing.
Jesus’ Question: What Is Your Soul Worth?
Pastor Oddo framed it with Jesus’ words in Mark 8:35–37:
“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
That’s the collision: the whole world vs. your soul.
And Paul echoes it in Philippians 3:7–8—counting former gains as loss for the excellency of knowing Christ.
This is what North Cities is called to model in Garland and the surrounding cities: a people who don’t just know how to live successfully, but who know how to live sacredly.
So What Do We Do With This in Real Life?
If you’re in Dallas County, Collin County, or Rockwall County, the pressure is real: schedules, bills, screens, stress, politics, school demands, social comparison.
This message gives us practical spiritual direction:
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Honor your birthright: treat prayer, worship, holiness, doctrine, and family discipleship as sacred—not optional.
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Refuse the “one morsel” life: don’t trade tomorrow’s anointing for today’s appetite.
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Pull bitterness up by the root: don’t let resentment become your inner narrator.
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Live plain: not bland—whole, upright, consistent, reverent.
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Choose soul-first priorities: because you don’t get what you want—you get what you respect.
North Cities, let’s be a church that raises a generation who can spot the difference between the plain and the profane—and who choose the path that keeps their soul alive.
