Anatomy Of A Fall

Falling into sin and moving away from God most times is not a sudden departure. It is more of a slow, progressive behavior that comes through a series of bad choices. These choices usually are a result of listening to that old "sin" nature we possess. I am going to choose what benefits me the most ( That is code for "I want what I want and I want it now."

In Genesis 13:10 we begin to see the downfall for a man named Lot. He and his uncle were at a stalemate over the land they both were occupying. His uncle, Abram, made the first offer by letting Lot pick where he wanted to live. Where ever it was Lot picked, Abram had said that he would go in the opposite direction and live there. Verse 10 reads: "And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well-watered every where." In other words, this was prime territory and it was all for the taking.

Verse 12 reads: Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.  Lot didn't move there at first. He just got real close and pitched his tent so he could see what was going on. Isn't it like that when we first start drifting away from working our program of sobriety? We are following Jesus in our daily lives. We are reading our Bible and spending time in prayer. But something inside keeps drawing us back (our thoughts and attention) to the old way of life (Sodom). We don't rush out and go back to the that old lifestyle, but we do pitch our tents in the thoughts of our mind. We began to fixate on how good it was to be high...that rush...that feeling. No thought about the destruction that always followed the high...No! We won't think about that. In our thoughts we convince ourselves that we aren't really hurting anyone by simply having thoughts about the old way of life. Trouble is, it doesn't stop there, it continues down a slippery slope that leads to destruction.

If you fast forward to Genesis 19, you read about the further descent Lot makes into the culture and society that is Sodom.  Verse 1 reads: Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom...... If you aren't familiar with Biblical terminology or custom you will miss something in this verse. "Sitting in the gate" is reference to the city government of Sodom. Custom of the day dictated that the city elders and rulers would convene at the gate of the city to settle disputes and make rulings for the populace of the town. Here we see that Lot has become ingrained in the culture of the society and has, in fact, become a Sodomite, or native of the town. He isn't outside the gate sitting in his tent watching, he has now moved into the city and has become one of its denizens. Isn't that the way of sin? We find ourselves sucked into the destruction and turmoil, a willing participant of wrongness and rebellion against God.

Just like the Steps tell us..."It will take a Power greater than ourselves to restore us, or bring us out of this spiritual darkness and madness." Praise God! Jesus is that Power.
So today....be careful that you don't let your thoughts turn to your old life, old friends and old places. Keep your focus on Jesus and walk out this day.
He is there to protect you...
He is there to love you....
He is there to aid you in this wonderful new life you have embraced....
God on you....

mb