In my last post we began to pick lessons from something that transpired between a man called Lot and his uncle Abram many years ago. The story and its lessons continues in this post. If you missed the previous post you can find it here.

At his decision for them to part company for peace to reign, Abram gave Lot the privilege to make a choice on which location to settle while he took the other. “Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left” (verse 9). -NIV

Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD (verses 10-13). -NIV

Around this time there was a battle between five kings in union against four other kings. The king of Sodom was among the five kings who were defeated by the other four. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom at that time. (Genesis 14:8-12)

LESSON NO. 3

Deference is not meant for superiors alone

Abram was the older one here. He had the prerogative to make his choice first but he did not. It paid off. Parents can defer to their children sometimes, superior can defer to subordinates, and husbands can defer to their wives. Only insecurity would make you feel you would loose your position or influence when you give the judgement of younger ones a chance sometimes. You must not dominate everything to prove seniority. Allow young ones have their say sometimes.

LESSON NO.4

Be wary of your decisions and do nothing out of selfish ambition (Philippians 2:3)

Young selfish Lot wanted all the favorable things to himself alone hence he chose to pitch his tent near Sodom. He had made a very poor decision which was to later cost him all his so-much cherished possessions. We get to choose our actions, but never their consequences. If Lot had considered the spiritual well-being of his family in such a polluted land as Sodom, he probably wouldn’t have chosen to pitch his tent near them. His poor decision later tormented him. He lived day after day in an environment that tormented his righteous soul by the filthy things he constantly saw and heard (2 Peter 2:7-8).

LESSON NO.5

Don’t be too sure; overconfidence is costly  

Take note in chapter 13 he pitched his tent towards Sodom but in chapter 14 he had found himself in Sodom. Sometimes Christians place too much confidence in themselves.

“Brother, this company you keep is dangerous, you can get into trouble.”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. They can’t influence me”

A lot of Christians have found themselves in deep mess today because they treaded dangerous paths, rest assured that they would never be carried away. Anyone can be tempted into adultery, addiction, or other forms of impurity. If you don’t eat the meat, why use your teeth to share it?

The lessons in this series continue in my next post. Don’t miss it and don’t forget to share. You may also like this post on the ship sinker.

You can find the priceless Journal on facebook and twitter. Subscribe to my newsletter for interesting post updates.

For prayers or counselling, we are just an e-mail away. If you would like to meet me, you can click here. See you in my next post on this series of life lessons from Lot and his uncle.