What is true wealth?

The story of Lot, as recorded in the bible teaches us the difference between material wealth and true wealth (our families)

Lot may have been a moral man personally but he chose material things at the cost of constant distress over the filthiness of the people of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. More significantly, when Sodom was destroyed, Lot was forced to flee, leaving the wealth he so valued behind.

Lot was a man who feared God. No doubt his uncle Abraham in commanding his household to serve God must have left an imprint on Lot’s life. Lot was righteous because he feared God. Being daily surrounded by sin would have given him the opportunity to compromise his faith. Lot had a conscience and a clear sense of the difference between right and wrong. That’s why God spared his life and the city was only destroyed after Lot had safely left.

Lot is often portrayed as a moral but weak man but in 2 Peter 2:7, he is called ‘a righteous man’; reflecting on his refusal to participate in the ‘wicked things’ the Sodomites intended. ‘and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)’ [2Peter]

Being in close relationship with Abraham, Lot would have observed at close range the change in Abraham from being an idol worshipper to a man of great faith in God. The acts of faith exhibited by Abraham must have had a great impact on Lot’s life.

This story makes clear that Lot did not live like the people of Sodom with their evil deeds but instead was tormented day after day by it. Righteousness always pays off as God delivered Lot.

Though Lot’s life was spared because of his righteousness, we need to consider the lives of other significant people in his life. His wife turned into a pillar of salt because of her disobedience to God, by turning back to look at the destruction of the cities when she had been instructed not to. His sons-in-law did not leave the city and were most likely destroyed. His two daughters with whom he left the cities, got him drunk and got pregnant by him. It would seem that unlike his uncle Abraham, he did not seem to command his household concerning the things of God. Despite the physical deliverance of his soul – he ultimately lost the greatest wealth he had- his family.

This might seem to be a strange statement to make, particularly when he was hesitant about leaving the cities, but he was an obedient man. There is no record of arguing with the angels about leaving the city. He only asked to go to another city than the one he was instructed to go to. God knows sometimes we will question but in the end God wants our obedience. There were 6 righteous people qualified to leave Sodom, Lot, his wife, his two daughters and their two husbands. Only three of them survived? Why? The other three disobeyed instructions. In the case of Lot’s sons-in-law they thought Lot was joking when he asked them to leave. On his wife’s part, she looked back when she was instructed not to look back. Lot fully obeyed and his life was spared.

Lot’s choice of indulging in the comfort found in Sodom was the pivotal decision of his life. As Lot discovered, the cost of compromise is always high. While Lot made some poor choices and mistakes, there is no denying the fact that he feared God. The men of Sodom never accepted Lot’ This one came here as a foreigner, but he’s acting like a judge’, they said of him (Genesis 19:9) Darkness and light do not mix.

Ola Aroyehun is the editor of ‘The Christian Business Magazine’ – a magazine dedicated to applying biblical truths to the world of business. She has a desire to see Christians be ‘students’ of the word and not just ‘readers of the world’. For more information on wealthy people of the bible, register for the free newsletter at www.christianbusinessonthenet.com.