THE PSYCHOLOGY OF BACKSLIDING: LOT AS A CASE STUDY ‘MUYIWA OMOLE

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF BACKSLIDING:

LOT AS A CASE STUDY

‘MUYIWA OMOLE

When considering the story of Abraham and Lot, I cannot help but think of Psalm 1.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the

ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners

nor sits in the seat of the scornful.”

Psalm 1:1

Through the Psalmist, God gives us three things about which to be wary. These warnings can be viewed as a description of a believer moving farther and farther away from God. Note the posture of such a man.

First he is walking, then he is standing, and, finally, he is sitting. This succession of increasingly sedentary positions shows us the steps of someone becoming more and more at home with the world. It shows spiral downward movement into perdition.

When we first met Lot, he was tagging along with Uncle Abraham. But when they parted ways, Lot’s backsliding begins.

In Genesis 13:10-11, we read:

“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld

all the plain of Jordan, that it was well

watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed

Sodom and Gomorrah, even as

the garden of the Lord, like the land of

Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then

Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan;

and Lot journeyed east: and they separated

themselves the one from the other.”

Abraham and Lot were coming out of the land of Egypt, a biblical picture of this world. Their two companies of people and livestock were too large to keep together, so Abraham suggested they part company and gave Lot the first choice of direction. “Lot…beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere.” Verse 11 says it was “like the land of Egypt.” Conventional wisdom would say to go that direction—it was just like what he had seen in the world. The world also says to look out for yourself first. Abraham shunned the world’s way and gave Lot first choice. Lot, following the counsel of the world, put himself first and chose the land that looked the best. The only problem was that it faced toward Sodom and Gomorrah. He chose to walk into a life of worldly influences. Then we see those fateful words, “He pitched his tent toward Sodom.”

The next time we see Lot, he has stopped journeying and was now residing in Sodom (Gen. 14:12), a town that could be categorized as “the way of sinners.”

They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son

who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods…

Consequently, he was captured, along with the rest of the citizens of Sodom, and had to be rescued by Abraham.

Finally, we see Lot here in Genesis 19.  

…Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom…

Verse 1

Not only is he living in Sodom, he is sitting in the gates of the city (Gen. 19:1). His presence at the gates indicates that Lot seems to have become completely acclimated to the world and its ways.

During Old Testament times, people who sat at the gates of the city were considered to be leaders of the town, something like a city council. Some have suggested he was there to warn naïve travelers of the dangers of the town, but, more likely than not, he was there in a governing capacity. This downward progression is a cautionary tale. In the end, Lot lost his wife as well as his sons-in-law. His daughters that remained caused him heartache. This man who had so much potential for the Lord missed out on great blessings by following and living in the world.

The Way of the Righteous

It is interesting to note that each time Lot comes into view in Genesis, Abraham is being blessed in some way. After Lot chose Jordan, the Lord blessed Abraham. When Lot is rescued from Chedorlaomer, Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, blessed Abraham. Just before the Lord sent His angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, He stopped and blessed Abraham. In the end, Lot is left stripped of his possessions and living fearfully in a cave.

Abraham, on the other hand, continues to grow in blessing. He fathers a child when he is one hundred years old. He becomes like the tree in Psalm 1:3: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.”

Too often, believers view the “restrictions” of Christianity in a negative way. They fail to see that even the prohibitions are blessings—protection against needless pain and suffering. Christianity isn’t about what we don’t do; it is about what we have.

James writes, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from

the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17).