Sex in the city I expected in the story of Sodom and Gommorah, but I didn't anticipate finding myself in this story. Then I saw myself there in the center of town, continuing on with my everyday tasks and growing accustomed to sin around me. I did not recognizing that my salt was losing it's flavor and that I had become more of a pillar myself, providing no help, no zest, invoking no change and making no difference. I had grown comfortable with the situation I was in, and in some instances happy with it, just like Lot's wife.
If you don't know the story, here is a short paraphrased recap. Read it for yourself to find the nuggets you may have missed in these passages. In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, God ultimately removes Lot and his family from a vile and corrupt society. They were the remnant left from the land, the only Salt left in the city. God spared Lot's family in hopes of keeping the family pure and free from sexual immorality and out of regard for Abraham. The lack of "Salt" in the city had led to the moral decay of the society. They could no longer be a light or an influence but instead were in danger of losing their saltiness themselves. Even Lot was not in a hurry to leave although they were urged by the 2 angels that had come to bring warning. Lot had become blind to the sin around him because he had grown used to it and he had accepted it in many ways, although he did not directly participate in it.
Before my divorce, I had only seen God's judgement in this story, I saw a God with a heavy hand, I saw a God who hated sin, I saw a God who had no mercy on Lot's wife. I was ok with this assessment of the Lord. I understood that He required holiness from his people. This was also Old Testament History, and so I was pretty sure that this is how God operated back then, but it isn't how He operates now. It was an explanation for the question; How could a loving God be willing to destroy an entire city and then destroy a wife and a mother. This was all I ever really saw in this story, probably because it was a story about someone else, and it didn't apply to me.
I know that God is the same yesterday as he is today, so there must be more to this story. God is never without compassion. He did not wish to destroy the city, and He waited giving all a chance to repent. Instead, they grew in their wickedness. God had been patient with Lot although He had been reluctant to leave, not wanting to walk away from his home, although it was corrupt. God wasn't happy about that, but he was patient and wanted to spare Lot and give him opportunity to escape. God also showed himself understanding especially toward Abraham. God knew there were no righteous people left, but he spared Lot for Abrahams sake, and he granted Abrahams request to check for himself to see that city was vile. God was kind sending warning and protection to Lot's family, providing a way out of the city, and warned them not to look back.
I also thought the punishment for Lot's wife was harsh until now.\ I felt that I too would struggle leaving a home and my friends and all that I had known. The scripture says she looked back at a place she longed for. Yet, how could she long for a place so full of evil. She longed for a World that lived opposite to God's plan, it was the same as hatred toward God. There was no way for her to live in both worlds and Lot's wife was unable to keep from looking back. Her desires eventually rendered her useless. She was made into a pillar of salt, an immovable, unchangeable, worthless statue, unable to move forward and unable to go back.
By the end of the story, Lot's family reluctantly escapes. Although Lot had taught His family to fear the Lord, his daughters were raised around a community filled with sexual immorality. The daughters had also become blind and desensitized. They sexually molested their own father to get pregnant. They had been taught right from wrong, but they had not trusted God for their supply. They had themselves become corrupt, justifying their own behavior. They had lost their saltiness. They had forgotten the Word of the Lord. They had not trusted God, and they had allowed the sin of the city to come in and corrupt their thinking. They were not preserving society, and they weren't preserving themselves.
We are living in a society normalizing all sexual sin. Pornography addiction is rampant even in the church and teens are the number one consumers of porn. Porn dehumanizes people and sets demons in the hearts of men. We see young and old falling into the trap that leads to Sheol(the pit). Many don't return. God's grace is always available, but blind can't lead the blind, so both fall into the pit. Those who can still see have to make an effort to teach these hard lessons to our little ones. We have an enemy who seeks to draw us into a sick and Godless culture.
God offers us freedom in His Word and His covenant of Love. We can do something, but we can no longer wait for our kids to reach their preteens, by then it is too late. Our kids need real help, with real scripture and real understanding of what the consequences of these sins hold for them. Help them to keep their purity and remain salt and light to this world.
Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.