So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters' fiances, "Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it." But the young men thought he was only joking.
Genesis 19:14
Lot was a man who knew of God. He was raised by his uncle, Abram, after his father died when he was young. He was brought up with good role models but he seemed to make choices that weren't always the best. He lived in the moment and made his decisions based on least resistence and what was best for him, never thinking of how his actions could cause trouble for him or others involved. Lot stayed with his uncle Abram for many years until he got greedy and they decided to part ways. Lot took the best land which was closest to the City of Sodom and ended up living in the city after some time. He began to fall into the siful patterns of the people living in Sodom and he accepted their culture and the sin that went on there. His daughters were brought up in this awful city and found husbands, most likely from this city. It wasn't a great environment and after living there a while he felt comfortable with all the evil that was happening around him. He had to know who God was after living with Abram and following him while God was leading them. He knew the right way of living but had lost it somewhere in the enjoyment of his sin. Lot had some good qualities and it shows in the way he helped the angels when they came to find his family. Unfortunately he also made a poor decsision in offering up his daughters, but that is because he was lost in the lies of his surroundings. But, when things got desperate, deep down he knew that God was all powerful and just and he listened to the angels and tried to get his family to do the same. Unfortunately, Lot's testimony had been damaged by the way he was living his life and his daughters' fiance's just laughed when he told them God was coming to destroy the city. They had probably never even heard Lot speak of God and they knew by his actions and choices that he wasn't truly devoted to God.
Lot's life is a picture of what happens when we fall to temptations and believe the lies of satan. Was he looking for trouble? Most likely not. Lot was probably just wanting to find adventure and fun and he thought he could find it in Sodom. Unfortunately it cost him and the people in his life. It is so important to work towards keeping our witness clean. No we aren't perfect and we will mess up but don't ignore how Lot's decisions and actions affected his children! His daughters' fiances died, his wife looked back and turned to a pillar of salt and his daughter's drugged him and had sex with him! Had he raised them better, had he been a better role model for his daughter's fiances, had he led his wife to obey and know God, his life could have been different. He chose to stay in sin and keep believing the lies that made him comfortable there. This too can happen in our own lives if we aren't careful. Our kids can make poor decisons based on our actions and the way we live, and our loved ones could be negatively affected by our choice to live in sin, to belive in satan's lies and to ignore God.
Our character is revealed by our choices, just like Lot. When we make choices that follow sin, sinful things will occur. When we try our hardest to follow God's will, blessings will come. Not all good will happen all the time but God always promises to bless us when we follow His Word. We have a choice to follow God or follow sin and what we choose can have a lasting impact on those around us. We have a responsibility, if we call ourselves Christians, to live like Jesus and in doing so encouragaing those around us to do the same. We must work towards being a postitive witness for God instead of falling into sin and bringing others down with us.........and so we pray!
