February 14, 2017
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Choices And Consequences

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Opening Prayer

Lord, on this special day when love is celebrated, I remember Your generous love to me. May that love shine through me.

Read Genesis 13

[1] So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. [2] Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. [3] From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier [4] and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD. [5] Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. [6] But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. [7] And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. [8] So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. [9] Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” [10] Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) [11] So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: [12] Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. [13] Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. [14] The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. [15] All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. [16] I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. [17] Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” [18] So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the LORD.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“When Christians learn to be peacemakers, they can turn conflict into an opportunity to strengthen relationships, preserve valuable resources, and make their lives a testimony to the love and power of Christ” (Ken Sande).

“The blessings God showers on people create problems as well as possibilities” (T. Fretheim). The wealth and herds that Abraham brought from Egypt increased (1,2,6), but limited space led to “herders” quarreling (7). What do we consider when choices have to be made? Abraham, as leader, sees the importance of maintaining relationships. Disputes between “kindred” (8; NRSV) are often resolved in ways that have ongoing ill feelings, even ostracism and feuds, but Abraham’s stratagem “leads to peace” (Rom. 14:19). Although Abraham is the elder, he allows Lot to choose; whatever the consequences, Lot knows the decision was his. Lot sees an opportunity to select what seems best. Unlike the dry mountains of Canaan, he sees the irrigated greenery of the Jordan valley. He compares Egypt to a garden, forgetting the threat (12:12), a foreshadowing of the narrow-sightedness of those who complained in the wilderness (Exod. 16:3). Was Sodom’s reputation as people who “were wicked and were sinning greatly” (13) already known? What choices were involved as Lot settled “near Sodom” (12) and soon lived “in Sodom” (14:12; 19:1)? Did Lot see only the attractions of the land nearby and not the city’s dangers? Hereafter, we read only of his being captured (and rescued by Abraham; 14:12–16), barely escaping when Sodom is destroyed and being shamed by his daughters (ch. 19). Choices have consequences beyond our control. For Abraham, consequences were unexpected: a promise that all the land he could see from the heights near Bethel (and that would include the Jordan valley) would belong to him and his countless descendants. Lot went to a place of wickedness but Abraham “built an altar to the Lord” (18). Life is full of choices, including what we choose to see! Abraham is an example of seeing relationships with others and with God as central to life.

Apply

Are you involved in a dispute? If the answer is yes, how can you choose what makes for peace and honors God?

Closing prayer

Lord Most High, I want to honor You in my relationships. They can be a challenge and I can be a challenge. I ask for a restorative work of Your Spirit.

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