Incremental

 Compromise is a game of inches, not of feet. Eventually, the inches turn into feet, but it happens so subtly that by the time people realize what they’ve gotten themselves into, it takes a supernatural evacuation if there’s any hope of survival.

When it came time to go their own way, Lot and Abraham, then Abram, looked upon the land before them, and what they saw individually and how they saw it is telling. It shows the spiritual maturity of one versus the other and the importance they placed on what is visible to the naked eye versus what is not quantifiable by human logic.

Since both Abram and Lot had amassed vast herds and their household grew, the land they shared had become insufficient for feeding their flocks. Rather than war with each other or have any hard feelings because of the constant friction between their herdsmen, Abram came up with a solution. Each would go their own way, for the whole land was before them.

Genesis 13:8, “So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”

Abram knew that wherever he went, God would be with him. He likewise knew that if God was with him, it was all he would need. Everything else shrank into irrelevance, so he let Lot have dibs on where his flocks would head. It didn’t matter to Abram where he ended up as long as he was there with God. The most appealing situations are hell without God, and the most unattractive seem like this side of heaven with Him.

There are manifold reasons we are instructed to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and this is one of the most important: Circumstances are irrelevant if God is present. Geographical location, feast or famine, war or peace, if God is with you, everything else is tertiary.

Genesis 13:10-13, “And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.”

In the desert, the most precious commodity is water. Without water, there is no grass; without grass, animals don’t get fed, and like an ever-expanding ripple effect, everything dies when water is absent. I’ve considered all that when making the following statement: Lot was myopic.

The only thing he took into account was that the land was well watered, and there was much grazing to be had by his herds. He did not inquire of the Lord, he did not consider whether it was a good place to raise his children, nor did he wonder if he would find anyone to fellowship with.

Lot lifted his eyes and saw that the plain of Jordan was well watered, and that was by way of his choice, the only thing that mattered when making the decision. Can I keep what I have and continue to grow it? That was Lot’s only concern, and as Solomon would later lament, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

The Word also tells us that at first, to begin with, Lot pitched his tent as far as Sodom. He didn’t start out buying real estate inside the city; he was city adjacent, living in a tent. By the time the angels came and knocked on his door, he was a citizen of Sodom, watching the wickedness unfold before him and having his soul vexed.

I wonder what it took to convince Lot to abandon the tent for dwelling in Sodom. Was it the creature comforts, a nagging spouse, or his reasoning insisting that he’d worked hard enough all his life to justify having a bit of luxury?

We are not privy to how long it took for Lot to go from dwelling on the outskirts of Sodom to dwelling therein, nor do we know what instigated it, but we know that it happened. Slowly, methodically, incrementally, his proximity to Sodom was like a magnet, and nowhere along the way did he once stop to ask what the Lord’s will was in this matter.

If you are where God told you to be, stay until He tells you to go. If you are somewhere because you thought it was best without asking for His input, ask only if you are prepared to pick up and go once He answers. If you’re not, don’t tempt God needlessly by asking for instruction, receiving it, then ignoring it.

Yes, Lot maintained his righteousness even among the unrighteous, but his soul was vexed throughout his time there. It would be absurd for me to say go where evil doesn’t exist because you’d have to grow gills and dive into the Mariana trench.

What I am saying is that dwelling in Sodom without God’s specific instruction is a recipe for disaster, and growing comfortable in it is doubly so. Is your presence in a given place the byproduct of obedience or because it is well watered? Did you start off being adjacent to Sodom and now find yourself a permanent resident? Those are questions worth considering and finding the answers to.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.