Be sure that everyone’s faith journey with God will be
tested. Abram’s tells us so. He was tested first by a famine, so he went to
Egypt without checking with God. There his self-serving act led to his
expulsion from Egypt. His second test came in the form of misunderstanding. Lot,
his nephew and his herdsmen, and Abram’s herdsmen were jostling for space to
manage their livestock. Being the uncle he should have had the first choice to
decide which area he wanted. But Abram was magnanimous. He chose to give way,
saying to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between
you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me;
if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the
right, then I will go to the left.”
Abram had an abundance mentality. He believed that
there’s enough for everyone. One of the problems with the world is that there
are many of Lot’s kind of people, even Christians. They have a scarcity
mentality. This kind of mindset believe that if someone has something, others won’t
have any. Hence they become jealous, and scheme and fight to have them. But
Abram was a broad minded person. He took the initiative to deal with the issue
before it exploded into an unmanageable proportion. This teaches us to always
take the initiative to deal with a potential misunderstanding before it becomes
a full blown fight. That will be a discredit to the community, and will bring the
same to the Lord. Notice how Abram put it to his nephew. He was almost pleading
with him. Twice he used the word please. What a changed man he was. Not like
the calculative, scheming, self-serving man who tried to save his own skin at
the expanse of Sarai, his wife. How amazing! No wonder God could trust him. He
was confident that God would give his descendants what rightly would be theirs.
With a renewed vision, he placed his future in the hand of God. Instead of
trusting his sight, he chose faith. He saw everything through the lens of
faith.
Herein lies a principle stated by Paul in Philippians
2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfishness
or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as
more important than yourselves; do not merely look
out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Abram look away from himself. He gave consideration to Lot his nephew. So he
chose to let him have the first choice of the land. So Lot, who lived by sight,
chose what he thought was the choice land. Verses 10-11 tell us that “Lot lifted up
his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered
everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of
the Lord, like the land of Egypt
as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose
for himself all the valley of the Jordan….” Where
Lot had chosen seemed to be choice land. It was well watered and a perfect
place to raise his livestock. He…chose for himself all the valley of the
Jordan, and ...journeyed eastward.
What Lot did was exactly what Cain did, he moved
eastward to the enticing dazzle
of Sodom. He chose what he thought was a route to prosperity. He did not
consider that the route would lead to ungodliness, and so made the biggest
mistake of his life. He moved his family to the edge of the wicked city. Verse
13 tells us that “…the men of Sodom
were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.” He was courting trouble. He probably
knew it and to think that he still made that city his choice. Like him, many
believers today preferred wealth and prosperity over godliness and
spirituality. Either way, it begins with a choice. And we must adopt the right
choice - seek to live by faith and not moved by sight. A wrong choice will lead
to heartache and failure even!
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