Doing It All Over

Today’s Verse:

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) ~2 Peter 2:8

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Theodore Levitt of Harvard Business School said, “Experience comes from what we have done. Wisdom comes from what we have done badly.” When we consider the many characters of the Bible, Lot will be remembered as the man who lost the most important things in life through bad decisions. Lot may be described as the man who wished that he could live life over again.

We see Lot and his departure.

There was strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot. Lot may have instigated this. Abraham said, “We be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.” Lot chose the well-watered plains of Sodom. Lot chose to live in the plains with people who lived in sin and were very far from God. He could have reconciled with his uncle and continued on the pilgrim pathway which had previously blessed him. Instead, he chose the path that appealed to the eye but would be bad for his household. Lot departed from Abraham and the blessing of God.

We see Lot and his dilemma.

He was a righteous man who vexed his righteous soul day by day with what he saw and heard. The word "vexed" means that he was oppressed. He knew that what the people practiced was evil, ungodly, wicked, and wrong. On the other hand, he looked at how living among them had prospered him materially, and he could not get himself to walk away from them. He allowed himself to be sucked into the lifestyle of Sodom. He was the forerunner of every Christian who is a child of the King but decides to live below the spiritual poverty line.

We see Lot and his disaster.

The day came when Lot was compelled to leave the city of Sodom because of the judgment of God upon it. His sons and sons-in-law would not go with him. His wife turned back to look at the city as God was judging it, and she turned into a pillar of salt. His two daughters, who came out with him, were so defiled with Sodom's lifestyle that they committed an unimaginable sin with their father. All that Lot had accumulated in Sodom literally went up in smoke! Lot experienced a family and financial disaster.

We see Lot and his distress.

Lot was spared from the judgment of God upon Sodom. Lot did not lose his life when Sodom was destroyed. However, the loss of his family and the many opportunities that God gave him to not have any association with Sodom would haunt him for the remainder of his life. Lot spent the rest of his life thinking, “If I could do it over again, I would have made the right decision.” It was too late! He learned that money could be made again and houses could be built again, but the loss of his family and his testimony could not be recovered. “If only I could live my life all over again!”

Are you on the fence trying to decide between living for God and living for yourself? Consider the life of Lot and how a series of bad decisions led to terrible consequences. Don’t allow your life to come to the place where you might sadly say, “If only I could do it over again.”

Have a wisdom-filled God Morning!

Bible Reading Schedule: Exodus 36-38

#2Peter #Carnality #Lot #Regret #Wisdom