Every morning I wake up I decide to be a Christian. I choose to believe and act on the fact that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I choose to believe that He is the one true God and that His word is true and everlasting. With these beliefs come the belief that homosexuality is a sin among many others. However, many Christians, including myself often focus on this “obvious” sin more than others. It is so easy to cast judgment on someone who lives a life that is different from what we believe. Focusing on the sins of others is a scheme of the enemy to keep us from actually focusing on the things in our own lives that separate us from God.

Many of us know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed. I have heard this story and have read it for myself many of times but with flitters. Meaning, each time I encountered this message I took from it pretty much the same outlooks. Homosexuality is wrong. God punishes people for it. And Lot’s wife turns into a pillar of salt. But there is so much more to the story, that I feel is often overlooked. If you have not read Genesis 19 for yourself I recommend that you do.

First off, Lot is a believer in the one true God, who has left the fellowship of like minded people to live in Sodom for prosperity. He has become a member of a high society. He has become a person of influence and authority in a culture that does not honor God. God sends to angels to the town to meet with Lot because Abraham, Gods friend, interceded on Lot’s behalf. While the angels were in Lot’s home, after Lot urged them to stay, ALL the men of the town came to his home to have sex with the two men. Wait what?! But that’s not even the climax of the story.

Lot pleads with the mob, begging them not to rape the men because they were guest in his home. He instead offers the mob of men his two VIRGIN daughters. You can’t be serious?! The men were enraged at Lot’s attempt to correct their behavior. He had lived among them and witnessed their behavior without speaking up before but now he was choosing to do so. He was a hypocrite. He had lived among the ungodly and was shaped by that environment as a result when he finally took a stand no one would listen to him. He was no longer a believable witness for God. He had become one of the crowd, blending unnoticed.

So much more happens with in this chapter including: the consequences of hesitation and the longing for a past and sinful life, incest, the power of a righteous person’s prayer, the anger of God, and the mercy of God. However, we will not go into these things in this devotional. Today I want us to answer the questions below in complete honesty. Ask God to reveal His truth to you.

Questions:

Have you ever been so busy judging others for their choices that you don’t correct your own?

What sin do you have in your life that may not be as obvious to others as homosexuality?

What choices have you made as a result of your environment?

Have you become useless to God because you have conformed to your environment?

How can your faith and conduct stand out in your environment?