“Remember Lot’s wife!….Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:32-33)
The Roman Empire was probably the greatest empire the world had ever seen but Rome had succumbed to hedonism which is the pursuit of pleasure as its primary goal.
Just like in the days of Rome, the primary focus of many lives these days is the pursuit of pleasure to the detriment of God and godliness. This cultural force of hedonism has also affected many churches having taken over their spiritual and social space.
While hedonism has brought the world down already to her knees through all sorts of diverse pleasures and addictive behaviors, this cultural force marches relentlessly to dilute the testimony of the church of God which is to always lift aloft the banner of holiness in the midst of a sinful world.
The display of hedonism on television and in the diverse media platforms are dulling many aspects of our spiritual lives and heritage with the ultimate purpose of ensuring that we do not meditate on Jesus’ warning to “remember Lot’s wife”.
What is it to remember about Lot’s wife? She was the wife of a backslidden man who looked back at the sinful city of sodom under God’s judgment and was turned into a pillar of salt.
That is a picture of what happens to any Christian or Church, the bride of Jesus, who have their hearts attached to worldliness even though claiming to love God.
If there is something to learn from Lot’s wife it is that many Pastors who ought to be leading their sheep towards godly pastures have decided to pitch their tent towards sodom like Lot therefore endangering the souls kept in their watch. (Gen. 13:12).
As they camp toward sodom and are easily influenced by its hedonism those under their watch like Lot’s wife have become so dull spiritually that they are unable to heed the age-long warning to all Christians across many generations.
What does the age-long warning to Christians say? It says: “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.” (Isaiah 52:11).
Unfortunately, our desires, passion, and prayers, rather than focusing on the Lord to keep us unspotted from the world have been to have the Lord give us more and more of the pleasures of this world at the risk of our precious souls and against the Lord’s will for our lives.
It is time to arouse our spirits and ask the Lord to touch our cold hearts and make them burn for the pure love of God and to have his pure love consume all worldly passions logged in our hearts.
We should pray with holy fear to a God who is without partiality knowing that if our hearts continue to be controlled by the pleasures of the world then we like Lot’s wife stand the grave risk of being consumed with the world in the day of the Lord’s anger.
A sage warns: “Separation is the only way of escape: we must flee from the world or perish with it.”
Reading
Gen 19: 1-26.
