Lot’s Sin and Mine

Gen 13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
8 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. 9 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."
10 Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.
14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring [a] forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
18 So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD. (New International Version)

For a long time I have wondered what about Lot’s choice to go toward the plains of Jordan was so bad. Had Abram not let him choose? Then he chose and ever since has been labeled a bad decision maker. On Sunday morning the Lord gave me a great revelation. (Ok, maybe not great to everyone but great to me.) I finally saw the sin in Lot’s choosing. Do you see it? Lot looked with his eyes toward the plain of Jordan and saw (with his eyes) that it was well watered so that is the way he went. Of course he looked with his eyes you say. What else did he have to see with? Contrast Abrams response a few verses earlier. He and Lot were having troubles with their herdsmen fighting., so Abram built an alter and called on the name of the Lord. We don’t know for sure that Abram prayed about this situation, but I have a strong hunch he did since he suddenly had this great idea to split up. Abram used his eyes to solve his dilemma but not his natural eyes as Lot did and so often I do. He used his spiritual eyes. If Lot had sought God about the choice laid before him, he would not have fallen into sin as he did.

This isn’t the only incidence of seeing naturally and falling headlong into sin we see in the bible. You don’t have to get past the first few pages to see Eve looking with her eyes. Gen 2:6 says: “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye,” She was only using her natural eyes to see the fruit. She had left off using the eye of God to see the fruit.

The lesson for me is this: whether there is a command of God concerning my decision about something or not, there are always choices set before me to make. What eye will I use to look at my choices? Will I use my human reasoning and my natural eye which is often led to see beauty where none exists? Or will I go to an alter of prayer so that I may see with an eye of faith, the eye of God? I desire to make choices that will bring me closer to God not closer to destruction, as Lot did.