Devotion:
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Read Genesis 13:5-11.
When Lot goes east, he’s doing what we all do naturally. He’s searching for the thing that will make his life matter. Abram, however, gave that up. Abram saw the same land. He could have taken it. Instead, he gave Lot first choice. He must have known what Lot would choose. In giving Lot first dibs, Abram was taking the land of Canaan. Why did he do that? Because Abram knew the land of Canaan was the Promised Land, even if it looked less than promising. Lot was trying to get back into the Garden. Abram knew he was already there. Derek Kidner says, “Lot, choosing the things that are seen, found them corrupt and insecure; choosing selfishly, he was to grow ever more isolated and unloved. Abram, on the other hand, found liberation.”
We live in a world filled with the tension of choosing what is seen for what is not. What will we choose? The contrast between Abram and Lot instructs us on the nature of trusting God. Lot chose by sight, Abram by faith. Lot moved to the edges, Abram to the center. Lot found corruption and temptation; Abram found assurance and peace. Lot was spiritually compromised; Abram was spiritually alive. Lot moved in with sinners; Abram moved in with God. Lot built no altars; Abram built them all. Lot chose by sight alone, and that is always a mistake.
Personal Worship Option:
Dear Lord, as I make decisions in my life today and in days to come please help me not to make the decisions by sight alone but help me to seek your will for the best in my life. Amen.
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