We tend to become like the people that we surround ourselves with. This can be either good or bad. Iron sharpens iron, but also “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Cor. 15:33). Scripture calls us to be in the world but not of it (John 17:14–16). How can we be in the world, but not become like it?

Lot chose to live in Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 13:11). He had become a part of that community. The fact that he sat in the city gate (v. 1) shows that he was a leader and a town elder. His daughters were engaged to local men (v. 14). Lot had not been much of an influence on the town, but the town had influenced him and his family. When men wanted to abuse the angels staying with Lot, he offered the mob his own daughters (v. 8). When the angels announced God’s judgment, Lot’s future sons-in-law didn’t believe him (v. 14). When it was time to leave, Lot hesitated (v. 16). The angels had to grab him by the hand.

As God’s destruction rained down on the city, “Lot’s wife looked back” (v. 26). It was a look of longing and identification. She had become so identified with Sodom and Gomorrah that she shared in their judgment (v. 26). Lot’s daughters also had their perspective warped from their time in Sodom. When they desired children, they deceived their father and engaged in incest (vv. 30–37).

Lot’s story is a sober warning (Luke 17:32). While Sodom had been destroyed, its effects on Lot and his family continued. God has warned us to “not love the world or anything in the world” (1 John 2:15). The world system awaits God’s judgment.

Go Deeper

Why did Lot and his family struggle with leaving Sodom and Gomorrah? How can we be in the world and not “of it”? What does that look like for us?

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