Looking Back At Sodom

"Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 'If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ....  So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.'" - Luke 14:25-27, 33 

"And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.' But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'” - Luke 9:61-62

So what do those verses have to do with Sodom and Lot's wife? At the root it is about devotion of the heart. When people are trying to change their lives - perhaps after incarceration or struggling with some addiction, they are told they need to change the people, places, and things that facilitated the problems in their lives. So they might change the places but gravitate to the same type of people that enabled whatever it was that led to their troubles. "Bad company corrupts good character." (1 Corinthians 15:33) They understood that they need to change all three but something was drawing them back - that something is the devotion of their hearts. To be successful they need a heart change. The change must start from the inside out and not the other way around.

As Christians, our new life requires that we abandon all that stands between us and God. We can't do that on our own and yet God does do it on His own. Many Christians try to live with a divided heart. Wanting to embrace both God and the world. The Bible is clear about the truth concerning the outcome.

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth" - Matthew 6:24

The principle here is about a divided heart. Money or wealth, some translations use the word "mammon", is not the only thing that can divide a Christian's heart. I often quote Matthew 22:37-39. I think that we tend trivialize what "all" means with respect to our devotion to God. We ask the question that the serpent asked in the Garden, "Did God really say?". Take Luke 14 as an example.  Did God really say that we had to hate our family? No, what He said was that you must love God more and, yes, choose Him over your family, if it comes to that. 

Dr. Henry Blackaby, in Experiencing God, wrote about hearing God's voice; "When God spoke they knew it. They knew what God was saying. They knew what they were to do in response." The question is always - "Would they be obedient?" It is the same question for us. We are not obedient because our hearts are divided. Part of us is remains devoted to "Sodom". What is your Sodom? We all struggle with something - or more than one something. [In ancient Greek and Roman literature, the Sirens were creatures who were half-woman and half-bird. Their enchanting song was said to lure sailors to their deaths in dangerous waters.] Like the song of the Sirens, our worldly devotions will lead us away from God, while we have convinced ourselves that "It's really OK and not a spiritual danger." Be alert for the temptation to look back at Sodom.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory. 

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone