Testimonies for the Church, Volume 2 - Ellen G. White

more he thought upon it, the more his desire
strengthened, until his birthright, which was sacred,
lost its value and its sacredness. He thought, If I
now sell it, I can easily buy it back. He bartered it
away for a favorite dish, flattering himself that he
could dispose of it at will and buy it back at
pleasure. But when he sought to buy it back, even
at a great sacrifice on his part, he was not able to
do so. He then bitterly repented his rashness, his
folly, his madness. He looked the matter over on
every side. He sought for repentance carefully and
with tears, but it was all in vain. He had despised
the blessing, and the Lord removed it from him
forever. You have thought that if you should
sacrifice the truth now, and go on in a course of
open transgression and disobedience, you would
not break over all restraint and become reckless,
and if you should be disappointed in your hopes
and expectations of worldly gain you could again
interest yourself in the truth and become a
candidate for everlasting life. But you have
deceived yourself in this matter. Had you sacrificed
the truth for worldly gain, it would have been at the
expense of life everlasting.
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