You Can't Have It All

Last week we met Leah and dealt with her issue of rejection.  This week we will focus on Jacob’s second wife, the sister of Leah, Rachel.  The minute Jacob met Rachel he fell in love with her.  Genesis 29:11 tells us Jacob immediately kissed Rachel and burst into tears.  A definite case of love at first sight.

Genesis 29:18 tells us Jacob asked for Rachel and was clearly in love with her.  In verse 20 we learn that to Jacob seven years seemed but a few days.  Isn’t that how it is when you are in love?

We have already talked about how Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah.  (see Jacob and Deceit and Leah and Rejection.)

We also found out last week (see Gen 29:30) that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah.

What more do we know of Rachel?  Back up to verse 17.  Here we learn that Rachel was beautiful and well formed.  Rachel seemed to have everything, which brings us to her issue.

Perfection.  Jacob certainly thought she was perfect.

Many of us struggle with perfection.  The dictionary tells us that perfections is “freedom from fault or defect, supreme excellence, superiority, worth.”

Many of us define our worth by how perfect we appear.  You and I both know that neither of us is perfect.  But man, do I wish I had the time back that I used trying to convince the other soccer moms that I was perfect.

Anyway, God weighs in on perfection pretty quickly here.  In verse 31 we find out that Rachel is barren.  This is a great example of no one has it all.  In ancient Hebrew culture, it was a public humiliation for Rachel and for Jacob.  This was compounded by the fact that Rachel’s sister, Leah, was a baby making machine.

The lesson I feel we can learn from Rachel can be found in Genesis 30:1.  “When Rachel saw that she failed to bear children to Jacob, she became envious of her sister.”

Perfectionism leads to envy.  When we want to appear perfect, we envy those who appear to have the pieces we lack.  Rachel envied Leah because of all those babies and it strained their relationship.  Eventually, Rachel dies giving birth to her son, Benjamin. (Gen 35:18)

Perfectionism is a lie.  A lie that leads to a life of envy.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Do I try to appear perfect?

Why does being perfect matter to me?

How has trying to appear perfect led me to be envious of others?

What faults am I willing to admit today?

What can I learn from Rachel?