How many of us look at the choices we have made in life and regret some of them? Sometimes these are big and sometimes they’re small. You were eating at the restaurant and you know that curry has an interesting effect on your digestion, but you chose it anyway. About midnight, you regretted that decision, but by morning you were OK (and thinking about eating the leftovers).

Or, maybe, right out of high school you had a chance to go to college, but you decided to work a couple years first. The couple of years turned into a decade and, now, years later you wish you had gone to college.

Or, maybe, it was a moral decision. You’re sitting here this morning, but years ago when your children were little, you didn’t make faith a priority in the home and now—as you see the lives your children lead as adults—you have some regrets.

I want you to read with me as we look at a momentous decision on the part of two men. There’s a lot we can learn from it (ha! Pun intended):

Genesis 13

The first thing that I always notice when I read this story is to think of Lot’s choice. See, Abram had no legal reason to do what he did. Abram was the senior member of the family and he would have been completely within his rights—as to the laws of the time and, probably, morally—to say, “Lot, you go here.”

Why did Abram do what he did?

Hebrews 11:9-10
By faith he lived as a foreigner in the country that God had promised him. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God. For Abraham was waiting for the city which God has designed and built, the city with permanent foundations. (GNB)

Abram’s priorities are different from Lot’s. Lot is focused on the now, Abram is focused on eternity. The choices they made on this day affect the rest of their lives.

But before you get too down on Lot, I want you to read what Peter said about him:

2 Peter 2:7-8
He rescued Lot, a good man, who was distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people. That good man lived among them, and day after day he suffered agony as he saw and heard their evil actions. (GNB)

OK, now you can get down on Lot. See, Lot had learned from his uncle. Lot came from Ur with Abram, so—presumably—had grown up around idol worshipers and pagans just like Abram. Like Abram, though, he seems to have learned that there was only one true God. And Peter, writing through the power of the Holy Spirit, tells us that Lot was distressed by what he saw in Sodom.

Well, doesn’t that bring up an obvious question: why didn’t he leave Sodom? Go back to my first illustration. Let’s say you have a friend who tells you that he gets violently ill every time he eats something with curry on it (not me! I get violently ill when I smell curry). What’s your simple solution to your friend’s problem? Don’t eat curry, right?

Let’s take a look back at the story in Genesis. Lot makes his choice based on the looks of the land and he goes and sets up his tent. Abram accepts Lot’s choice and goes to set up his tent.

Look at the contrast between the two:

Lot camps near Sodom and Abram goes and makes a sacrifice to God. How many times do we, as Christians, make a choice that may not be evil per se, but it’s not the Godly choice? How many nights do we go straight to sleep (not an evil thing!) rather than taking a few moments to pray (the Godly choice)?

The King James Version has an interesting way of expressing Lot’s choice: “and pitched his tent toward Sodom.” If this is the correct reading, it’s an interesting word picture. It’s not just that Lot camped near Sodom, he pitched his tent in such a way that, when he got up in the morning, he was looking at Sodom.

Ever tell you child to go to bed, but he manages to position his bed so that he can see out his door and see the TV? This is Lot. He’s a God-fearing man. He knows the wickedness of Sodom. But he also finds it enticing. Maybe he’s like a lot of us with our TV viewing. How many of us would never think of having an affair or committing a murder or doing a lot of the vile things depicted on TV … but we’ll still watch it. There’s no indication that Lot became involved in the wickedness of Sodom, but eventually he actually moves into town. Like a lot of us, he was probably telling himself, “This isn’t affecting me.” But he winds up with [spoiler alert] a wife whose desire for this wicked city causes her death and daughters who don’t shirk at incest.

Lot is a good man, but he’s a weak man. And he makes choices that Satan uses to exploit those weaknesses.

What happened to Lot happens to every one of us who pitches our tent toward Sodom.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. (NIV)

Lot had a good foundation, but he built on it using the materials of this world and it becomes a disaster for him.

Compare that with Abraham. He could have sulked that he got the inferior land. Instead, he took some of his riches and offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord! We may look at this passage and think it doesn’t seem fair that Abraham didn’t get the land during his lifetime. But look what he did get!

He got the blessing of the Lord! Remember those choices I talked about earlier. Haven’t you made some choices before and wished you knew whether you were making the right one(s) or not? What greater blessing could there be in this life than—as in Abraham’s case—to receive immediate confirmation from the Lord!!

We can only hope to have such blessing if our heart is where Abraham’s is: focused on God.

What do I DO with this?

“God can give you a vision instantly but its fulfillment will require a lifetime of learning, practicing and managing life's daily challenges.” –unknown