Lyle's Blog

I’ve been reading Elie Wiesel”s book, Night, which is an account of a young Jewish boy questioning his faith and belief in God. He witnessed the worst that man can dish out. It made him question his belief in God. How could a merciful God allow such things?  The prayers they would utter together were just words. If there was a God, he wasn’t listening or didn’t care. There just couldn’t be a God.  It’s the same question many ask today.

Today we live in very tolerant Sodom and it’s myriad of sister cities. We like it here. Science has indeed made things easier;  pleasure and leisure can be had at our whim. I’m not saying no one has problems, but we live measurably better than our ancestors. I’m really talking to Christian people. We enjoy the freedom that tolerance gives us. We’ve become an accessory in mankind’s quest to make life better instead of coming to grip with our sin.

Lot was a drunkard. He was vexed by the depravity around him so I believe he drank to dull his mind. His wife loved the place. Lot, like Adam, his mentor, succumbed to his wife’s desire for the good life and stayed where she wanted to be: Sodom.  Don’t get me wrong, Lot loved much about Sodom too which is why the angels had to almost drag him out of there. I’m sure he had much to leave behind on a moments notice.

I’m not sure what was righteous about Lot but I have a feeling it was Abraham’s righteousness that convinced God to save Lot just like it’s the righteousness of Christ imparted to us that allows us to have a relationship with God.   It’s odd how two apparently opposite men, Noah and Lot, did the same thing when the God-orchestrated event was over;  they planted a vineyard of grapes for the purpose of making wine and getting mind-numbing drunk.

The months Noah and his family spent on the ark had to have been a terrifying experience and maybe being drunk for a bit seemed like a rational way to cope with their Post Traumatic Stress. That’s one of the reasons drinkers drink, to forget and ignore their problems for a while; the other is to ignore their obligations.

For whatever reason, Lot went a step further down the drunken path. I’ve known drunks and many get so loaded they don’t know where they’ve been or what they’ve done.. This was Lot. He built his vineyard. He made his wine. He got so stinkin’ drunk, he didn’t know when his daughters came into him for sex. They were worried that their family was going to die off and figured they would solve that problem.

From our point of view, this is at best a troubling story. Women are by nature helpmates. What that means is, and wonderfully so, is that women want life to be better.  They want to figure a way to solve problems.  They want to sooth the hurt and make sure things turn out well.  Obviously this is a general statement; I’ve met women of opposite desires.  The daughters of Lot lived in a far different reality than we do now but I it doesn’t take too much looking to find acts as horrible today.  We haven’t changed, really.  We’re just better at hiding or ignoring it.

The apostle Paul tells us that we are to wash our women with the Word of God. We’re to initiate Bible study in our homes which is to remind our women and ourselves what God has said. Adam and Eve both heard God tell them what He expected from them, but because Adam didn’t remind Eve on a regular basis, she became open to seduction. From the get-go, Adam shirked his responsibility and in typical man fashion said: “Whatever you want honey.” I think she was really wanting that apple and no doubt there was some sexual persuasion going on with Adam, so it’s “anything” your pretty heart desires babe.

And what did God say afterward?  Adam, because you have listened to your wife………Lot listened to his wife too. Let’s just stay in Sodom till the children are through school…………. This doesn’t mean we should never listen to our wives. Every decision we make as a couple should be washed with the Word of God. We’re to take every thought and make it accountable to the Word of God. That was the job of Adam, it was the job of Lot, and it’s our job too. We’re supposed to allow the Bible to guide us in our decision making. This isn’t man ruling over woman; it’s God ruling over both.

When we marry, we become one flesh. Our lives are forever entangled. It’s reading and practicing what the Bible says that makes us able to become one before him.  Love is something learned. We’re to love one another and it’s love that covers a multitude of sin. Husband and wife are both sinners. One is not better or more valuable than the other.  We must desire God before we can properly desire each other.