Jump Start # 131

Genesis 13:8-9 “So Abram said to Lot, ‘Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.’ 

  Abram and Lot traveled together. They had so many flocks and herds that the land could not sustain them. Their herdsmen fought. Tensions were building. Something bad was going to happen if the situation did not improve. Abram steps in with a plan. He demonstrated leadership and peacemaking.

  Several things are interesting about this. First, God had directed Abram to leave and journey, not Lot. Lot had hitched on with the people going with Abram. Secondly, Abram was older than Lot. Abram had every right to just tell Lot you go this way and I will go that way. But he didn’t. He let Lot pick first. We remember what happened. Lot saw the valleys and that there was plenty of water, an ideal place for herds. He took what appeared to be the best. His choice put him in the area of Sodom and Gomorrah, the twin cities of immorality and godlessness. Later, God will be so sick of the sins of those cities that He pronounced a coming destruction upon them. Abram pleads for the sake of the righteous. God will spare the cities if  ten righteous people can be found living there. We know there was one, Lot. Peter calls Lot righteous three times in 2 Peter 2. But apparently there were not 9 other righteous people. This is out of two cities!

  The affect upon Lot’s family was disastrous. We remember. As Lot’s family flees the coming destruction, his wife turns and looks. God said not to do that. She couldn’t resist. She became a pillar of salt. Later, his two daughters get Lot drunk and have sexual relations with him and become pregnant. What a mess! Lot’s family becomes a spiritual sewer.

  What seemed to be the best choice wasn’t. What looked good on paper and what looked good financially, and what looked good for herds was not good for people. How many fathers have made the same choice. A promotion, an opportunity, a chance. It looks great financially. It looks good on paper. But what about the moral and spiritual climate? What will the change do for the family? Lot’s family was never the same after that.

  You see that in some family histories. As dad climbs the corporate ladder, more money comes into the household, bigger houses, fancier cars, more stuff. The herds swell. A move to a better region. But the region is Sodom. The kids become less spiritual and more materialistic. Interests in the gospel dwindles. The family compromises here and there and before long it is hard to find righteous people living in the household.

  What’s the answer? Don’t take the promotion? Don’t move? Sometimes that may be the answer. Some leave a great church and end up with a church that fights and bickers and can’t make up it’s mind whether to stay open or close the doors. Poor choice. But refusing the promotion, and staying put won’t keep Sodom out of the house. Somewhere in all of this Dad has to still be Dad. He must lead the family spiritually. The demands of work can not become the excuse that he doesn’t have time. His first job is raising the family spiritually. How do you keep Sodom out of your house? What shows are on the TV? What music is being listened to? What is being looked at on the computer? That’s a start. Surround the family with incredible people—invite families into your home that have similar values as you do. Open that Bible at home. Make God real. Make God good. Make God first in your home.

  Lot chose the best land, but it cost him. He paid dearly for it. Don’t follow in his steps!

Roger