Too Much World

Genesis 14:12-16 - they also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. Then one who had escaped came, and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram.  When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.  Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.

Sometimes…we allow ourselves to live so far out of God’s eyesight…we allow Satan to trick us into living amongst people who make bad decisions…and rebel against God. Lot had allowed himself to justify the evil in Sodom…somehow thinking that he should move within the evil city’s gate. We are simply not told why Lot felt compelled to live amongst these evil people. The bible is clear that they were not people who revered God…they did not share Lot’s love of Yahweh at all. The commentaries I read theorized that it was selfish pride…the need to live in a place of convenience....in a place where his wealth could buy him a nice home…instead of a simple tent. Peter …and used him as a point in one of his sermons said that Lot had become “vexed”…he wrote in 2 Peter:7-8…  “ and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked  (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds),” 

It seemed that Lot had messed up to the point that his righteousness…despite living within the walls of a city that permitted many evils that clearly distressed his soul…and heart that still loved God.  It seemed that God had left him as he allowed Lot and everything he owned to be taken captive.  Perhaps it was a lesson to Lot that he had become too much a part of the world…that his ‘vexed’ condition was compromising his relationship with God. Perhaps God just wanted him to see what happens when we live with both feet in the world…and still try to worship him in an atmosphere of evil.

This story isn’t just about guarding ourselves from getting to close to the worlds ways…it also tells me that no matter what I justify in my life..no matter what evil surrounds and tricks me….no matter what mistakes I have made…if I believe in God...his provision and covering is never lifted from me….until he is finished with me…until I have completed my task for him on this Earth.  God’s love for me is so strong it can save me from my own greed…from my own bad decisions.  God loves all of us so much that he will allow one stranger to escape…one that knows a godly man…even a family member…one who is stronger…cause they refuse to be a part of the world…and live in simple tents….and go to an altar to talk with God on a regular basis.  God will use the small army that he had them train for just this day…a day of deliverance…a day when God’s small army will overcome the enemies that hold us captive….and set us free.

Sometimes we get it…and become passionate about our task….like Saul on the Damascus road.  And sometimes we just go right back to our old ways….like Lot…and continue to justify our worldly choices. We just don’t see the warning…we miss the lesson entirely…we settle back into the old routines and begin to justify our lives...and never take a stand against the evil that is right next door. …never moving completely away from its lure…allowing it to vex us as it did Lot.

Father…I ask you this morning to give me a new passion for you.  Make of me a strong servant like Abram…who listens to your voice and builds an army that can conquer the evils of this world.  Help me learn to separate myself from the evil around me…to live inside your will…and worship at your altar…and praise you for the greatness of life itself. I thank you this morning for every blessing you have showered upon me…and for the simple home you allow me to rent. Form in my heart and mind the loving words that you would use to convey to the world that some things are just evil…and they are controlled by Satan.  Help me to be your loving voice on Earth to help others begin to see how important it is to live in your love and mercy…not the world…and the pride that can lure us into accepting some things as okay. Amen