In our breakneck-speed society, we have invented marvelous tools to make sure we are going the right direction. We have evolved eons past the astrolabe and the North Star. We are hyperconcerned with the direction we are traveling because we can arrive so fast. If an airplane is 1 degree off the point of destination at the beginning of its flight, it’s possible the plane will end up somewhere other than intended. With a rocket, 1 degree can make a world of difference. Yet, with all this concern about directions in our physical world, we don’t seem so concerned about our spiritual direction.
There is a wonderful Bible story that illustrates this point. Abraham was always upright and made decisions based on love of the Lord rather than his own desires and inclinations. Abraham and Lot, his nephew, left the land of Ur together. Both were wealthy in livestock. The scriptures record: "And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together” (Genesis 13:6 KJV).
The herdsmen of Abraham and Lot began to fight with each other. Abraham did not like the contention, so he suggested they split up and go their separate ways. He gave Lot first choice and said to him: “Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:9-10 KJV).
Lot looked at the land of Jordan and saw that it was beautiful and had lots of water. So, he chose the plains of Jordan, and Abraham went the other direction.
"Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom” (Genesis 13:12 KJV).
It is interesting to note the direction Lot placed his tent. He was interested in what was going on in Sodom, even though the "men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13 KJV).
Abraham, on the other hand “removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord” (Genesis 13:18 KJV). Abraham was more interested in what the Lord thought than in what was going on in Sodom or any other place in the world.
Eventually, Lot took up residence in Sodom; it wasn’t enough just to dwell on the outskirts. The consequences of his choices played out. It appears that Lot forgot about the well-watered land and his livestock. All was wasted.
There was a battle where Lot was kidnapped. Abraham rescued him. The king of Sodom was pleased with Abraham’s victory and wanted to reward him with the spoils from the battle.
But Abraham said to him, “I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich” (Genesis 14:22-23 KJV). Basically, Abraham told the king that he had promised the Lord not to take anything, not even so much as a thread, so that no one could say the king of Sodom had made him rich.
Abraham’s allegiance was always to the Lord. His spiritual GPS was set exactly on his spiritual destination. He knew taking even a thread from the spoils of battle would taint his spirit and would lead him off course. He didn’t want anything to do with the world of Sodom. He went back to his tent and saw the miracle of having a birthright son born to his aging wife and went on to become the father of many nations, as the Lord had promised him.
On the other hand, did Lot leave Sodom after Abraham had rescued him? No, it took the Lord raining down fire from heaven and having his wife turned to a pillar of salt to convince him that there were serious problems in Sodom’s way of life, and the ending of Lot’s life is not one of glory and success, though he finally left Sodom.
The story of Abraham and Lot is relevant in our modern world. Sodom, or wickedness, is all around us. We find it in the movies we watch, the news commentators we listen to and attitudes on the internet. It is significant which way we place our proverbial tent door. There are consequences as real as those that plagued Lot in his decision to face his tent toward Sodom. Wickedness draws you toward it like a magnet. It’s like going up the down escalator; it takes monumental effort to make the upward climb when everything in the world is pulling you down.
Good Christian families are losing their children to the proverbial Sodom of the world because they, unwittingly, point their tents toward Sodom. It isn’t that we really do anything bad, and we ourselves do not endorse the practices of Sodom. But we allow our children to be raised by the media. We believe it is OK to skate around the commandments of the Lord because it is Super Bowl Sunday, or this movie only has a little bit of violence and sexual content. It is OK to spend more time on social media than it is to have face-to-face conversations. Unwittingly, we have given our children the excuse to adopt the philosophy that sports are more important than keeping the Sabbath day holy; that sex before marriage is OK because like the movies, everything turns out all right in the end; and that violence is the answer to our frustrations. The good guy must knock a few heads to get the bad guy to surrender to good. Everyone can cheer for that. Can’t they? Gradually, like Lot, we move into Sodom, and we don’t even realize we have changed residence.
It is difficult today for our children to see the difference between good and evil. Back in the day, the good guy always wore a white hat and acted like a good guy. He had great respect for human life. Now it is hard to tell the difference between the hero and the villain. The behavior is the same. So often we call evil good and good evil. How will our children know the difference unless we show them?
It is easier to read a novel or watch a movie than it is to read the scriptures. It is simpler to give a 6-year-old a smartphone with a game to play in church rather than expect them to pay attention to a preacher. It is easier to give a child the tablet than it is to watch them play or be creative and then help them clean up the mess. It is easier to be involved with our own hobbies and talents than it is to help children develop their talents and to teach them self-discipline and give them something meaningful to do. It is easier to say, “That is not the way we believe” than it is to show them that is not the way we believe. It is easier to brush children away when we are busy than it is to take time to explain the whys and wherefores of life. It is easier to place our tent toward the world than to face the winds of social pressure and fight the uphill battle of bringing our family along with love and compassion. It is easier to let the escalator take us down than to try to climb day after day. But, the climb is worth it, and the rewards are far greater than those found in Sodom.
By the choices we make, we place our tents either toward Sodom or toward the Lord and His kingdom. The consequences of our choices do not show up immediately, but they show up often when it’s too late to do anything about them. If we want successful Christian children, we must place our tent doors firmly facing the Lord’s kingdom. We cannot accept even a thread of the spoils of Sodom.
