There is a Bible story in the Old Testament that never fails to amaze me, no matter how many times I read it.

It's the account of Esau selling his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of soup (Genesis 25:19-34).

To understand the full weight of this story, you really need to understand the extreme value and importance the Jewish people ascribed to the firstborn son. It was a position of great privilege, prestige, and status. It afforded a double portion of the Father's inheritance. And, prior to the Levitical Era, assigned the responsibility of family Priesthood.

And so it is with great bewilderment that we find Esau exchanging this most coveted title to his younger brother Jacob for a mess of pottage.

A life-long position/title of privilege, prestige, and status sacrificed for a brief, temporal satisfaction of fleeting hunger.

Sounds all too familiar, doesn't it? We tend to scoff at the stupidity and poor short-sighted judgment of Esau, and yet, all around us we see the same kind of things happening.

The US political landscape is rife with disappointing and disheartening examples of public figures who have relinquished positions/careers of authority and trust, and traded them for momentary pleasures.

Even within our industry, there is the temptation and danger of 'selling out' in order to achieve some short-term financial gain. Especially with the market being as slow and challenging as its been. People are desperate to make ends meet and become increasingly vulnerable to a lapse in ethical judgment.

As real estate professionals, many of us are required by law to take continuing education courses on ethics each time we renew our license. We're familiar with the NAR Code of Ethics and could probably recite one of the 17 articles from memory.

But do we really take such training to heart? Do we allow these principles to become a vital, living/breathing part of who and what we are?

Or, like Esau, do we quickly compromise our position of trust, and jeopardize our careers, for some brief, temporal gain.

None of us are immune to such indiscretions. They typically start out as seemingly small, insignificant, and easily justifiable actions. Just this once, we tell ourselves. No one will know.

But the next occurrence becomes all the more easier to commit, and soon, a habitual pattern emerges.

So the question I want to pose to the collective ActiveRain brain trust is this:

How do you personally protect your ethics and integrity? What practical preventative measures can we put into place that will help to prevent us from falling prey to such alluring enticements?

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, and Crabbing in the Hood.