Choices are more powerful than we sometimes understand. Having looked at Lot's desolation and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, we've witnessed the power of negative choices in one believer's life. The effects were cumulative--one choice tends to build toward another, until one's judgment and ability to choose differently is so diminished as to require divine intervention. In the New Testament, Paul talks about giving Satan a "foothold" in our lives through sinful choices (see, for example Ephesians 4:27 and its context). Lot was so conditioned by his continual choices that, in the face of Sodom's imminent destruction, "he lingered" and had to be dragged out of town due to the mercy of the Lord. I am praying that the Lord will open my eyes to any sinful patterns in my choosing, and cause me to run to him for forgiveness and the strength I lack to choose rightly. You and I may need other believers to help us make and keep making those good choices. Get into community where we can encourage each other bo live God's way, making choices that honor him above all. I'm reminded of an old saying from the preachers of my youth, about sowing (planting) and reaping (harvesting):
Sow a thought; reap an action.
Sow an action; reap a habit.
Sow a habit; reap a character.
Sow a character; reap a destiny.
Sadly, this proved true with Lot's life. And it may prove true in ours. But our God is more powerful than bad choices, and his Spirit can set people free--even from themselves.
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