Sodom and Gomorrah was terribly
wicked. The moment they knew that two men (the two angels) entered
into their domain, they came over to Lot's house and demanded that
he hand them over so that they can have sex with them. This just
shows the horrific practices that were at the order of the day
there. But for me it was so shocking to read of Lot's response:
"Please, my brothers," he
begged, "don't do such a wicked thing. Look - I have two virgin
daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for
they are under my protection." Genesis 19:7, 8
I couldn't believe what I was
reading! How can any devoted father suggest something like that? Of
course it was the custom of the day to protect your guests at all
cost, but I would have hoped that there was a different way to
protect them than to offer your two daughters to the wolves.
Luckily for the daughters, the homosexual men didn't want them. But
Lot's offer made me wonder about his spiritual welfare. He didn't
pray, he didn't believe that God will help them; he didn't even try
other alternatives. Fortunately the two angels helped Lot in his
predicament and blinded the men of Sodom so that they couldn't find
the door.
It was then that the angels
announced their plan of doom against Sodom and told Lot that they
will destroy it. The angels were kind to Lot and allowed him to
find his relatives and to hurry out of the city before it was
destroyed. Lot hurried and tried to persuade his future
sons-in-law, but they didn't believe him and thought he was joking.
Lot himself was hesitant to go. He didn't want to leave everything
he owned behind. But the angel forced him to leave.
"When Lot still hesitated, the
angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters
and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was
merciful. "Run for your lives!" the angel warned. "Do not stop
anywhere in the valley. And don't look back! Escape to the
mountains, or you will die." Genesis 19:16, 17
The city was going to be destroyed,
because not even ten righteous people could be found. Only Lot, his
wife and two daughters were saved. It would seem that after all the
years that they spent in Sodom they didn't even have a single
convert. Even his own sons-in-law didn't respect him enough to
believe him when he tried to warn them. Lot's life didn't influence
the people that they lived among. Isn't that sad?
Today it is the same with us. Do
you think that you are a good influence to the godless people all
around you? Do you portrait God's love to them or do you rather
blend in with them, because you don't want to cause a stir? The
fact of the matter is, it is much easier to pull someone down from
a wall, than it is to pull someone up from one. Gravity holds on to
the person being pulled up. The fallen world will hold onto the
person that you are trying to pull up, and you should be very
careful not to fall down yourself. You need to be spiritually
strong, otherwise the worldly people will influence you more than
you will influence them.
I have shared once before how much
the people drank that I worked with. Getting drunk was the norm
rather than the exception. And because I mingled with them a lot,
they began to influence me. I never joined them, but later it
didn't shock me anymore and I started to accept it as normal. They
influenced me more than the other way around, sad to say. I wasn't
spiritually strong enough at that stage to be a real influence on
them.
Now I am not saying that you should
be judgmental, God is the only true Judge. Leave all the judging to
Him. But you need to be an active witness of the love of Christ.
You need to proclaim true life to the people around you. They need
to see Him in you, they need to see that you are different, they
need to see that you handle stress in a much better way, they need
to see His light and love in you. Be the influence that you need to
be in this world. Do not hide your light under a bucket, but let it
shine out for all to see.
Father, please help us to shine
Your light. Please help us to be the influence on this world that
You want us to be. At the end of our lives we want to know that we
have made a difference. Please give us the courage to stand up and
speak out, give us the wisdom to know when we must be quiet and
only the example and please help us to know the difference. In
Jesus' Name. Amen