The Danger of Bad Alliances
August 5, 2010

Seldom has a leader made a more ill advised and down right stupid alliance than did Lot. Initially, the union appeared as harmless as choosing a Coke instead of a Pepsi.  I'm sympathetic to Lot because I fear in his situation I might have made the same choice. Abram, who would later be named Abraham by God, approached his nephew with a reasonable solution to a pressing problem: Too many livestock and too little land. And so Abram told Lot, "Let's not have fighting between us, between your shepherds and my shepherds. After all, we're family. Look around. Isn't there plenty of land out there? Let's separate. If you go left, I'll go right; if you go right, I'll go left." (Genesis 13:8-9).  Because he was older, Abram could have assigned Lot a parcel of land or taken the best land for himself. Lot could have and should have refused the first choice. But hey, what's a selfish and shortsighted guy to do?  Instead of allying himself with Abram and God, Lot chose a different alliance. As Lot gazed at the lush Jordan plain he made a tragic choice. In Genesis 13:12 we're told Lot "pitched his tents near Sodom." Years later, before God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, we're told the angel found Lot "sitting in the gateway of the city" (Genesis 19:1).  In the ancient world the leaders of a city met at the gate to make important decisions. Lot was probably there because he had become a leader of Sodom. What had started as a campsite "near" Sodom resulted in an alliance with the city. Lot had become one of them.

That terrible alliance explains why he found leaving so hard. And why his wife looked back and lost her life (Genesis 19:26). And why his daughters got him drunk and then seduced him (Genesis 19:33).  A single choice that led to a single alliance led to numerous tragedies. Be warned: When considering aligning yourself with a person or cause be sure you do the one thing Lot didn't do ... pray. And as you pray ask for the wisdom to choose the course of action that will align you with God and his purpose. That single alliance will lead to numerous benefits.