The danger of half-hearted obedience (lessons from the life of Lot - Part 3)

(Pillar believed to be Lot's wife - Internet photo)

There's a great lesson to be learnt from the story of Lot (and his wife in this case) when it comes to obeying God. Genesis 19 teaches us about the dangers surrounding half-hearted obedience, e.g.  

"Flee for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" Genesis 19:17...

Lot and his wife were told to flee for their lives... and not to look back... but 'Mrs Lot' only obeyed in part, i.e. she fled from Sodom.  The Bible explains that she stopped en route and looked back towards where she had come.

..."But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26 

That's a bit harsh!

If I'm honest, I used to think that God was really harsh turning 'Mrs Lot' into a pillar of salt!  But, the truth of the matter is, she was probably covered in  burning sulphur which rained down on the area she was told to escape from quickly.  Therefore, this tragedy happened because she didn't obey God's instructions to get out of the danger zone... quickly!  God was trying to protect her from danger - not zap her with some kind of harsh punishment stick!

When I looked up Wikipedia, I found the following statement:

 "... sulfur was once extracted from salt domes where it sometimes occurs in nearly pure form..." (Wikipedia) 

It seems that this statement could support my theory because salt is present in sulphur!  

The Bible is full of similar advice from God, e.g. 

^{2 Corinthians 14 - 17}

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God,

    and they will be my people.”Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.

Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”  And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Which direction are you running towards?

Still today, the church is awash with idolatry and harlotry, just as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah .. Many Christians are to be found running... not in the direction of fellowship with God, but rather in the direction of the world!  Obedience to God is half-hearted and many do not pay attention to the Word of God.  And whilst professing Christians attend church on Sunday, they may also be found in fellowship with the world the night before!  Many hearts lie in the direction of the world and it's temporary thrills and entertainment... and then we have the audacity to blame God when sudden disaster comes upon us and we find ourselves in situations which God wanted us to avoid... 

Testimony

After I trusted the Lord for salvation (some 25+ years ago), I sought to follow Him wholeheartedly.   God knew the 'loves' re: my previous lifestyle, i.e. discos / nightclubs / dances, etc.  However, He took all such desires away from me overnight.  In exchange, He gave me new desires which are much more satisfying.  

I know it would be difficult to convince my school English teacher that I prefer to spend a night at home reading my Bible or some other Christians literature as opposed to getting dolled up and going out to a nightclub.  My English teacher had a job encouraging me to read anything!  And yes, I know that our tastes in life change as we get older and mature, however, I'm talking about life when I was a 21 year old woman!

We have to want to be serious in our walk with God, and in return, He will be serious with us!

When we desire to follow God's path for our lives, He will give us the desires of our heart - i.e. new desires, placed in us by the Holy Spirit.  

Don't look back!

There have been occasions when I have looked back and backslidden.  On such occasions, I have been miserable and suffered as a result of partial obedience to God... I have even blamed Him for painful situations I have found myself in... but the truth be told, God was never to blame for any such situations in my life... I brought most of them upon myself through partial / half- hearted obedience to God and His Word which He holds out in love to protect us.  

How about you?  Have you experienced painful situations because of partial and half-hearted obedience to God's Word?  

News: This is my last post for a while... I'm taking some time out, but will be visiting the online link ups from time-to-time.  Please note: I have disabled the comment feature on this particular post.