Hardened to Evil

With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. Genesis 19:15-16

The story of Lot and his family is very unsettling. First the way he offerred his daughters to the angry and evil mob, then his hesistation to leave a city that was about to be destroyed by God, and then his wife turning to a pillar of salt for looking back in disobedience.

Just before they departed from the city, he tried to persuade his daughter’s fiancés to leave with them, but unfortunately, he had lived so long and was so content among ungodly people that he was no longer a believable witness for God and the men refused to leave with them resulting in their destruction. Lot had allowed his culture to shape him, rather than shaping his culture.

But before we look to harshly at his actions, we need to take a look at our own. How many times have we offered things of great worth such as our devotion, time, finances and lives to things that are evil? Things that do nothing to promote a lifestyle of a servant of God or a Daughter of The King?

How many times have we hesitated when God has called us to move or act? Do we drag our feet when the call comes to serve someone else? To give generously? To be available?

How many times have we looked back at what God has called us out of, clinging to the past and unwilling to completely turn away from it? Remembering only the good times, not the captivity and destruction that were also included in those moments.

Are we allowing our culture to shape us, or are we shaping our culture?

Lot’s story is a timely reminder that we need to be mindful of what we are allowing into our hearts and minds. We need to stop compromising and stand with the truth of God, ready to act and to move in any way that God asks of us. And we need to remember that we can’t make progress with God as long as we’re holding on to pieces of our old life.

As Daughters of The King we are called to make a difference in our circles of influence. We need to ask ourselves, “Do those who know us see us as a witness for God, or are we just one of the crowd blending in unnoticed?