A L M A C I A S

THE CONSEQUENCES OF MAKING BAD CHOICES

Our lives are very much affected by the choices we make every day. Every day, from the time that we get up in the morning to the time that we go to sleep, we are making choices that could affect our lives in ways we would never have imagined. In Genesis 13:7-12, we are able to find one very good example of a choice that was made by a person who apparently did not take into consideration the consequences of that choice. We read in this passage of Scripture concerning Abraham and his nephew Lot and their great wealth. They had accumulated so much cattle that there was not enough grass to feed all of their animals, and the herdmen of Abraham and the herdmen of Lot began to strive. Abraham, being the kind of man that he was, immediately saw the problem and tried to do something to resolve it. Abraham spoke to Lot and told him that it was not right that they strive with one another, since they were brethren. Therefore, it was going to be necessary that they separate from one another.

A man's character can easily be seen by the way he deals with others. In this world of ours, we have "the givers" and we have "the takers," and we usually find ourselves in one group or the other. Abraham was among the givers; and Lot, it seems, found himself in the group of the takers. When Abraham offered to let Lot choose the piece of land he wanted, Lot lifting his eyes and beholding the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, even as the garden of the Lord and the land of Egypt, chose the plain of Jordan. Abraham then chose what was left. Little did Lot realize that his choice would eventually cost him his family.

Lot and his family pitched their tent toward Sodom, but eventually found themselves right in the middle of Sodom and in the middle of a very sinful environment. When we find ourselves in the midst of those who live contrary to the will of God, there are two very likely possibilities ­ either we will try to help those about us to be like us, or they will try to influence us to be like them. In the account before us, we know who ended up influencing whom. Lot's wife and daughters became victims of a sinful world. Thus, we can see that the choice Lot had made some years before ended up costing him dearly. The Lord once asked, "What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matt. 16:26). Another good question that we should ask ourselves is, "How much would one give for the souls of his own family?"