Be careful what you wish for

“Be careful what you wish for,” they say, but better yet, “be careful how you go about trying to acquire what you wish for.”

- CITO BELTRAN

We’ve all heard about people who are so determined to get what they want that they will pursue it at any cost, through bribery, deceit or manipulation.

Before sharing some insider information on business and politics, let me set things up with the story about a biblical mother-and-son team named Rebekah and Jacob in the book of Genesis chapter 27. This particular mother-and-son gained notoriety and popularity as the example of how favoritism and deceit to gain power come at a price.

Having conceived a child/son late in her marriage, it has been said that Rebekah suffered great humiliation, bullying perhaps from the other wife of Isaac and presumably fear and anxiety about the future. In order to overcome all these, Rebekah may have been the first “Maritess” in the Bible who turned information into the opportunity of a lifetime.

Having heard that Isaac was about to give his generational blessing to his favorite son Esau after the latter prepares his favorite dish of wild meat, Rebekah quickly organizes a counter move by making her son Jacob smell and feel like Esau and prepares a similar dish. The almost blind Isaac falls for the ruse and gives Jacob the blessing.