Lot has offered his daughters to the sex-crazed mob so that they will not touch the angels. When we finally get through that selfish fiasco, and the angels must "force" him to leave Sodom, with those self-same daughters and Mrs. Lot.
Then, while he is still on the road running away from Sodom, Lot pleaded with the angels to let him go to the small city of Zoar rather than the mountain that God wanted him to go to. Here again, Lot is trusting in his own ways or his own intuition, rather than God’s ways because he was, as always looking out for #1.
What has Lot compromised by thinking this way?
He compromised his relationship with Abraham
One of the things you notice first about the story of Lot is his apparent closeness to his uncle Abram. From the beginning we learn how Lot "went" wherever his uncle went and his uncle’s willingness to have him along. But things seem to change when their possession increased.
The thing that stands out about the character of Abraham at this point in Lot’s life is his willingness to maintain his good relationship with his nephew.
"So Abram said to Lot, "Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left." Genesis 13:8-9 (NIV)
Abram had every right to tell Lot where to go. He was the elder, and the one that God made the promise to. Abram risked everything by giving Lot the choice. Why did he do this? Because he was not willing to compromise his relationship with Lot. Clearly, Abraham was not looking out for number one!
He was looking out for peace!
Sometimes we have to make a choice. Every now and then, we have to stop and think, would I rather be right for this moment, or would I rather maintain this relationship?
Is this "thing" that I am fighting for, or willing to take, worth NOT being in relationship with this person....possibly forever?
Contrast Abraham's thinking to Lot's. He didn’t even think twice about it. He was willing to compromise his relationship with his uncle in order to take advantage of the apparent bonanza.
The most unsettling thing that happens when we look out for number one is that we compromise our relationship with those who love us most!
Lot compromises the blessings of God
Something that I think Lot forgot in his choosing was that the only reason he had the possession he had was because he had hung around with Abram, and Abram was being blessed by God. In leaving Abram, Lot was walking away from God’s blessings! He was compromising or "placing in jeopardy" God’s blessing. As you read to the conclusion of Lot’s life you see the impact that decision had on his life.
One of the reasons that Lot was so tormented in the city of Sodom, because he had known what it meant to be in God’s blessing; and now he was on the outside!
Lot compromised his family
One of the saddest things that happened as a result of Lot’s decision was the "placing in jeopardy" of his family! Notice what happened as a result of Lot’s compromise.
The very safety of his family was compromised in the midst of the international conflict.
Lot's married daughters and son-in-laws refuse to leave with him when he tries to warn them of the impending destruction of Sodom. In fact they "laugh" at him"!They had become "accustomed" to the wickedness in the city.
Lot’s wife looks back at Sodom after being warned not to and is turned into a pillar of salt. She looked back with longing at what she was leaving behind and not believing that the city really was going to be destroyed.
Lot’s remaining daughters commit incest with him in a cave on the mountain of refuge at the end of Lot’s story. Having been exposed to the wickedness of the city of Sodom for most of their lives they saw nothing wrong with what they did.
[continued...]
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