But It Looked So Good!

How often do we make decisions based on our senses and our environment? "If it feels good, do it!" is a popular saying in our culture today. The problem is that often times our senses and our environment fool us.

Take Lot, for instance. In Genesis 13 Lot contends with Uncle Abraham. Instead of fighting, Abraham (Abram then) tells Lot to pick and he'll take the leftovers. Lot "lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar" (Genesis 13:10). Also in that direction was Sodom and Gomorrah.

Lot was after getting the best for himself by his own wits. Abraham was after getting God's best by God's promises. Lot quickly got into trouble as he moved closer to wicked Sodom. He got kidnapped in a battle and Uncle Abram had to rescue him. Not learning his lesson, Lot ended up living in Sodom and even becoming a city leader of sorts.

The "well watered" plain of the Jordan was also rife with sin. That internal rottenness did not manifest itself in an external desert. Quite the opposite in fact. It looked good on the outside but was rotten on the inside - where it really mattered.

In our lives we need to be careful making decisions based on what appears great. Madison Avenue makes us think that new expensive car will be a chick magnet and will get us on the road to happiness. Now that doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a car or even a new car. The difference is, are we like Lot looking out for our own best interests based on what we see and can do, or are we trusting God that He will provide our needs and is in the business of changing us on the inside into His likeness?

So when presented with "well watered plains" just make sure you include God in the discussion and ask for His guidance and then do things that will benefit your walk with Him, draw you closer to Him and lead you to act more like Him.

Pastor Tom