Thursday, March 10, 2011

(Not so) choice pick!

"Lot looked about him, and saw that the plain of the Jordan was well-watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD... so Lot chose for himself all the plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward."
(Genesis 13:10-11)

God calls Abe at the ripe young age of 75.  "Go to the land that I will show you," God says.  So Abe goes.  He takes his beloved bride, Sarai (age 60), and his nephew, Lot.  Both men had more than their share of livestock and workers.  Too much, actually, to get along together.  So Abe gives his nephew first pick of the new land.  "Chose one side and I'll take the other.  No questions asked."

Lot, probably in his mid-40's to early-50's, was no dummy.  He quickly assessed the situation, saw the fertile plains to the east, and made his decision.  Real estate investors would have applauded his choice ("It's all about location, location, location!").  Lot took the "better land."  Or so it seemed.

There was one problem, however... the better land housed some very "unsavory" characters.  You see, the cities of Sodom & Gomorrah were in the east.  Although Lot didn't know it at the time, his entire life would be devastated by his "choice pick."  The Bible tells us that God would eventually destroy those two cities because of their rampant, vile, & incessant sin.

So what's the "moral" of the story today?  Choose wisely?  Maybe.  Don't pick "Sin City"?  Possibly.  But it could be even simpler than that.  Looks can be deceiving.  What appears at first to be "a sure thing" may actually have deeper issues at work.  Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to choose what WE THINK will be the best for us... and instead, seek God's direction & guidance in our lives.  God may know (quite a bit) more than we.

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