Genesis 19:1-11. 1The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.
Do you like to pretend? Pretending can be a lot of fun. God gave us good imaginations so that we can “make believe.” But what God doesn’t want us to do is fake it.
What does that mean?
It means trying to make it look like you are doing the right thing when really you aren’t. Like when mom tells you to clean your room and you just sort of move clutter around for a while and then say, “My room’s clean, mom.” Or in school, when you are scribbling on your paper instead of doing your homework. That’s faking it.
In Genesis 18 and Genesis 19 we read two stories that sound very similar. In Genesis 18, Abraham is doing the right things. In Genesis 19, Lot tries to look like he is doing the right things, but he’s a faker.
Genesis 18: Three visitors come to see Abraham.
Genesis 19: Two of those visitors come to see Lot.
Genesis 18: Abraham prepares a big feast for the visitors, including bread, milk, and steak.
Genesis 19: Lot makes unleavened bread (like pita bread) for the visitors – blah.
Genesis 18: Abraham washed the feet of the visitors (something every good host did).
Genesis 19: No foot washing by Lot.
Genesis 18: Abraham lived in a safe place and he trusted God.
Genesis 19: Lot lived in a terrible place and barely got out alive.
But the biggest difference between Abraham and Lot comes later in the chapter. In Genesis 19:4, when it says that the men of Sodom came to Lot’s house, it means they came to try to hurt the visitors. Of course, these evil people did not know that the visitors were angels. Eventually the angels will make all the bad guys blind. But before they do that, Lot tells the bad guys that they can hurt his family instead of hurting the visitors.
And that’s why we say Lot is a faker. It looks like Lot is trying to protect the angels who are visiting him, but he is actually putting his family into danger. Do you think that makes God happy?
Remember, it is never right to do wrong in order to do right.
Genesis 19 is really one of the saddest stories in the Bible. Most of Lot’s family won’t even listen to him and they stay in Sodom. In the end only Lot and two of his daughters will survive God’s punishment.
Aren’t you glad that you’re not like Lot?
Well, the truth is that we all act like Lot sometimes. We only obey God half way. Or we do bad things to make it look like we are doing a good thing.
But with Jesus we never have to fake it. We can trust him instead and do our best to do the kind and loving things that he wants us to do.
In the end, you will get things wrong more than you’ll get things right. But thankfully, God’s not asking us to always get it right. God knows that we are weak human beings that need his grace and forgiveness all the time. That’s why Jesus came and got it right for us! Like the angels came to Lot and rescued him, Jesus has come to us and rescued us from our sin. So trust Jesus and stop trying to pretend you’re perfect. Let him keep rescuing you over and over until he rescues you all the way into Heaven forever.
You: In what ways do you pretend to be a “good Christian?”
You with Jesus: How does being saved by Jesus keep us from having to pretend that we are good?
Prayer: Father, I don’t want to be fake. I want to believe that Jesus has and will rescue me over and over. Amen.
TLICfamily 