‘The cost of compromise’
“Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan…” (Genesis 13:10). It started with a look. Abram generously offered Lot first dibs on the land, and Lot chose for himself and his family the lush plain of Jordan, “…and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.” (Genesis 13:12).
Lot purposefully set up his homestead looking out toward Sodom, the inhabitants of which “were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.” (Gen. 13:13).
This is how compromise starts; we see something and on the surface it probably looks good. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that “we walk by faith, not by sight” however in the case of Genesis 13:10, Lot walked by sight. Lot wasn’t trusting the Lord; he was trusting what he could see and what he thought looked good.
That’s one of the problems with Christians today. We see more of the news and what the world declares to be right and wrong, and suddenly we’re making decisions based not on God’s word, but on what’s happening in the world around us.
We’re more interested in cultural morality than we are in what God says is right and wrong.
At some point, Lot went from looking at Sodom to living right in Sodom, as we read in Genesis 14:12 that Lot was taken hostage by the four kings: “And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.”
The sin of compromise is a slippery slope; we start by looking at something, and the next thing you know we’re living it.
Lot may have been a lukewarm Christian, but because he was lukewarm, he was weak, he compromised, and he was unwilling to stand up for what was right. His entire family suffered as a result and didn’t follow God.
As Christians, we should not be transformed to the world; we should be transforming the world by sharing the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
Look around; certainly, there are things happening where we are living that are wrong, but what are we doing about it?
Rather than complain, we should be championing for change. Rather than looking down on what the world is doing, we should be working to lift others up and show God’s standard. We are often afraid to speak up or stand up for the truth because we do not want to be accused of being intolerant.
D.A. Carson, founder of the Gospel Coalition, once said: “People don’t drift toward holiness, they drift toward compromise and call it tolerance, and drift toward disobedience and call it freedom.”
In Genesis 19:1, we read that Lot “sat in the gate of Sodom.” As I wrote in a previous column, gates in ancient times were places were the kings and civic leaders of a community or a city gathered to work. Lot was a leader in Sodom, probably using “tolerance” and “freedom” as his talking points.
“One compromise here, another there, and soon enough the so-called Christian and the man in the world look the same,” A.W. Tozer wrote. Lot made the decision to compromise with the world rather than to obey God.
Sin is a progressive thing. Lot started looking, then living, and then leading in Sodom. And what happened next? He lost everything. God literally destroyed Sodom and everything in it, and Lot ended up living in a cave. That’s the cost of compromise.
Don’t be deceived; compromise in our lives doesn’t lead to anything good.