Standing on the edge of a large sewage tank, I try not to inhale as the murky liquid slowly churns. Eventually, I have to breathe and when I do, my stomach churns just like the liquid below me. All the while, my eyes scan the top of the goop looking for the reason I am here. I was told by several friends that somewhere in the tank are my favorite candy bars. I see one that has just floated to the surface. I slowly lower myself down into the tank, feeling the thick liquid surround my legs. I hesitate for a moment, thinking I probably should not do this, but the candy wrapper catches my eye and I continue. Soon I am up to my shoulders and swimming toward the candy bar. Never mind that I am covered in filth and stench. Never mind that I am exposing myself to disease in here. The candy is worth it, right?
“Oh, come on!” you are thinking. “Who would do that?”
Most people would – including Christians. Go back with me to the story of Lot in Genesis 19. God said, in chapter 18, that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was so grievous that the outcry had reached Him. God sent two angels to check it out, which is where we find Lot in chapter 19. He and his family lived in Sodom, an extremely sinful city. 2 Peter 2:7-8 tell us that Lot was a righteous man, “tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard” while living there. But when we look closely at Genesis 19, we see a righteous man deeply compromised by his surroundings. Perhaps that was part of his torment. When the angels went to his house, ALL the men of Sodom surrounded the house, calling out for the angels so they could have sex with them. Lot expresses no surprise at that depravity but easily offers his daughters! When he tried to persuade his sons-in-law to leave the city, they did not take him seriously. God, in His grace, called Lot righteous, but his own family members thought he was a joke. When the angels tried to impress on him the urgency of getting out before destruction, he hesitated. He did not want to leave. He had become attached to the darkness, in the process losing his influence and almost his life. He did end up losing his wife.
Recently, a much anticipated movie was released, hitting almost instant “blockbuster” status. I knew of Christians who were giving it glowing reviews. My children wanted to see it, so I read a Christian movie review of it and was sickened. Without going into offensive detail here, it was labeled a “crass, sexualized sequel.” In the first film, the reviewers were dismayed by the film’s sexual content. In this sequel, they were appalled. “Barely there outfits,” “sexed up co-ed,” “sexual distractions,” “intent upon having sex,” were just a few of the phrases in the review. That does not take into account the list of profanity (including 15 or so misuses of God’s name) and disturbing violent content. Are we so immersed in and attached to our “Sodom” that we do not recognize sin anymore? Or is it that we dismiss it as unimportant? What impact is it having on us, our families, and our influence?
My heart breaks for God’s people who are more in love with our culture than they are with God Himself. Like Jeremiah, I am not judging. I am weeping. What awaits those who have deeply compromised?
If we truly want to love and honor the Lord with our lives, then Phil. 4:8 is our standard. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Lessons from Lot: Three Commands
As I was studying the story of Lot anew, and came to a certain part about the angels, this memory sprang to mind. Actually, it comes to mind from time to time, having left a strong impression on me. I attended a Christian high school. Somewhere in the course of those years, I was in a group of kids hanging around one of the sports coaches. I do not remember the context of his comment but here is what he said, referring to an attractive girl, “Just because I’m on a diet (married), doesn’t mean I can’t look at the menu.” He and the boys all laughed. The Holy Spirit within me whispered, “That is not true.”
The more I pondered that comment and the ramifications of it, I was deeply saddened by his lack of understanding and the freedom he felt in passing that along to high school boys. The Bible says Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look at a maiden. Marriage is a covenant between two people who are to be faithful to each other in every way. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church, sacrificially and purely. He is not to delight in other women.
What does looking at a menu do to a person who is on a diet? It causes them to crave things they should not have. It creates a hunger for the forbidden. It sets up the battle then to choose the right food while the mouth is watering for the wrong food. 1 John 2:16 refers to this as the cravings of sinful man and the lust of his eyes. Coach, I pray your words did not encourage those young men to justify their fleshly desires and ultimately harm themselves, their wives and their marriages.
Women, lest you think this does not apply to you, the Bible does not say that lust of the eyes is only a man’s problem. Lust can take many forms for both genders. Let us go to the story of Lot, chronicled in Genesis 19. Look with me at verse 17. As they were leaving Sodom, one of the angels gave these simple instructions, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” Pretty straightforward. Nothing confusing about that. If you don’t want to be destroyed, follow God’s simple instructions. What are they? When something is bad for us God says, “Flee, Don’t look, and Don’t stop.” Exposure to some things puts us at risk. God knows the power of visual stimulation and He knows the lure of what we are attached to. He wisely tells us not to look – period! Do not stir it up. Do not indulge the cravings. Do not create a battle within. Run away, do not look, and do not stop until you are safe.
Mrs. Lot looked and it cost her her life. Maybe she wanted to see something exciting or maybe she was already longing for what she was leaving – her house, her possessions, her friends. For whatever reason, and to her destruction, she directly disobeyed God’s instruction to not look. What are you looking at? What if it were to cost your life? Would it be worth it?
The more I pondered that comment and the ramifications of it, I was deeply saddened by his lack of understanding and the freedom he felt in passing that along to high school boys. The Bible says Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look at a maiden. Marriage is a covenant between two people who are to be faithful to each other in every way. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church, sacrificially and purely. He is not to delight in other women.
What does looking at a menu do to a person who is on a diet? It causes them to crave things they should not have. It creates a hunger for the forbidden. It sets up the battle then to choose the right food while the mouth is watering for the wrong food. 1 John 2:16 refers to this as the cravings of sinful man and the lust of his eyes. Coach, I pray your words did not encourage those young men to justify their fleshly desires and ultimately harm themselves, their wives and their marriages.
Women, lest you think this does not apply to you, the Bible does not say that lust of the eyes is only a man’s problem. Lust can take many forms for both genders. Let us go to the story of Lot, chronicled in Genesis 19. Look with me at verse 17. As they were leaving Sodom, one of the angels gave these simple instructions, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” Pretty straightforward. Nothing confusing about that. If you don’t want to be destroyed, follow God’s simple instructions. What are they? When something is bad for us God says, “Flee, Don’t look, and Don’t stop.” Exposure to some things puts us at risk. God knows the power of visual stimulation and He knows the lure of what we are attached to. He wisely tells us not to look – period! Do not stir it up. Do not indulge the cravings. Do not create a battle within. Run away, do not look, and do not stop until you are safe.
Mrs. Lot looked and it cost her her life. Maybe she wanted to see something exciting or maybe she was already longing for what she was leaving – her house, her possessions, her friends. For whatever reason, and to her destruction, she directly disobeyed God’s instruction to not look. What are you looking at? What if it were to cost your life? Would it be worth it?
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