When a Delayed Decision is a Bad Decision

My book, Bad Decisions - The Legacy of Lot closely examines Lot's life. There are over twenty chapters, most of them easily developed into lessons or used with the available Bad Decisions Leader's Guide. Not only is the book read and used by Christians, Bad Decisions - the Legacy of Lot is used by drug rehab clinics and mental health professionals. 

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Deciding Your Legacy

Lot's legacy differs from that of Abram. As much as the night from day. Lot's decisions set every member of his family up for failure. 

Bad Decisions looks at Lot:

• Before Sodom
• In Sodom
• Beyond Sodom
• The Generations Beyond

The chapter provided for your perusal comes happens "In Sodom." Use this chapter as you wish!

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Delayed Decisions Can be Deadly

The death of a friend angered me. I wasn’t angry with God. My anger was directed at my friend, who had diabetes and other health issues. He ate wrong, and exercise was non-existent.

Due to diabetes, my friend had a sore on his leg that developed into a running wound. He was stubborn as a rock. Friends and family encouraged, cajoled, and demanded he visit a doctor. Did I mention he was stubborn as a rock? His response, “Let’s see how it goes. If it is not better soon, I’ll go to a doctor.” The man delayed. He delayed some more. Then, yet again.

Finally, my friend had a high fever and could no longer resist the demands to visit an Emergency Room. The diagnosis was quick. Bacteria from the running wound had entered his bloodstream. He was septic. In days, my friend was dead. He needn’t have died so soon.

My friend did not die from diabetes or a wound that went septic. He died because of deciding to delay a trip to the doctor. His delay was deadly.

Delay is a decision!

Lot’s guests pulled him inside his home, and the men outside were blinded. It was then that the angels spoke of Sodom’s impending destruction. Lot wanted his family saved. He went to warn his married daughters and their husbands. (Genesis 19:1-14) Lot’s sons-in-law ignored the warning.

The following day, the angels encouraged Lot to leave Sodom quickly:

…then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed…, (Genesis 19:15).

Lot did not hasten. Genesis 19:16: And while he (Lot) lingered …. Lot, like my diabetic friend was delaying. Delay is a decision.

Lot’s Uncertainty

Doesn’t it seem that Lot was not sure what to do? He was uncertain despite:

• His guests having saved him from neighbors intent on harming him. (Genesis 19:10)
• The miraculous blinding of the Sodomites, keeping them outside Lot’s home. (Genesis 19:11)
• A pointed warning that the destruction of Sodom was imminent. (Genesis 19:13)
• The angels’ instruction to, “Hurry up . . . lest thou be consumed.” (Genesis 19:15)

All evidence suggested quick action. Yet, Lot lingered.

Read an earlier blog: Decisions Define Life and Family

The Sound of a Wavering Decision

The first five books of the Bible, called the Torah by Jews, does not have a word for uncertainty. Instead, to describe uncertainty, ancient Hebrew used markings not unlike what would be called a “Flat Sign (♭)” in music.

Various marks of this type are in Hebrew literature. The symbols are not letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Instead, these characters gave emphasis and a subtle explanation about the text.  

¹²And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? . . . bring them out of this place: ¹³For we will destroy this place, . . . ¹⁴And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, . . . But he seemed as one that mocked. . . ¹⁵And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, . . .. ¹⁶And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, . . . (Genesis 19:12-16).

Above the word translated, “lingered” in verse 16 is a symbol known as a shalshelet. This mark expressed indecision. These symbols above a word provided the tone a reader was to use. A shalshelet looks a bit like a zigzag. Any word with a shalshelet above it was read in a tone of voice that moved up and down. The reader was to use a wavering voice that expressed uncertainty. God inspired Moses to write in a way that let us know of Lot’s lack of resolve.

• Lot knew he needed to leave Sodom, but he lingered.
• Lot wanted to be safe, but his life was in Sodom.
• Lot’s wealth was in Sodom, and his older daughters were in Sodom.

Lot had so much in Sodom that the certainty of impending judgment could scarcely move him from the city.

In the Face of the Inevitable - Decide

Few things in life are inevitable. Those few certain things should compel action.

• Death and judgment are sure. 
• The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will happen. 
• The catching away of the church is going to take place. 
• There will be a tribulation 
• The antichrist will rule the world 

Aware of the certainty of such things, many men do as Lot in Sodom. They linger, knowing they need to obey God, but not able to turn loose of the things they have enjoyed. Linger long enough as did my diabetic friend, and you are eventually beyond help. The sure thing becomes a current thing. The opportunity to escape is gone.

Stop lingering!

An Uncertain Identity

Men who are not sure of their godly identity have a shalshalet over their life. Such men linger in the face of imminent judgment. They remain on the edge of their church, even as revival happens. Lot delayed because his desires, which went to such extremes, left him with high stress and inner conflict. (Caspi, Joseph Ibn. Commentary to Bereishith, (Genesis) 19:16.)

Conflicted, Lot was uncertain of his identity. Decades had passed since Lot eagerly chose to be part of Abram’s group pursuing what faith had to offer. By chapter 19, Lot has fully embraced life in Sodom. Twenty years have passed since Abram rescued Lot from the King of Chedorlaomer. Lot’s daughters had married local men. Lot was now a man of the city gates. Lot knew he needed to leave Sodom. The problem, even with a tragic certainty ahead, still Lot did not want to leave Sodom.

A song says, “Take this whole world but give me Jesus . . ..” The song is easy to sing but hard to live. A man having Lot’s values cannot sing, “Take this whole world but give me Jesus . . ..” They struggle with an identity. Are you a man of this world, hesitant to let go of what you have always valued? Or are you a man of God, ready to respond and release? 

Decided or Undecided

Abram and Lot contrast. When God gave direction, Abram acted. Abram became a lifelong pilgrim. Lot pursued “permanence.” Abram was secure that God had spoken. What Lot “beheld” drew his attention.

Lot had taken root in Sodom. His roots were so deep that Lot self-identified as a wealthy judge in Sodom. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 23:7). Sodom was where Lot foresaw living out his days.

On the evening before Lot left Sodom, his guests had smitten the angry mob with blindness. Lot was as spiritually blind as the crowd had been physically blind. Lot was blind to how inconsistent his current actions were when compared to what he had experienced. Yet, the angels had to drag Lot away from Sodom.

Lot’s taproot had grown deep into the soil of Sodom. Men so rooted, particularly those who once lived by faith, find it hard to obey the Lord, even in the face of death and judgment. Are you rooted in the pleasant values of our world? Within hours of Lot having seen the miraculous – he lingered!

The Motives to Linger

Lot’s entanglements are the sort that causes men to have a shalshelet – the symbol of wavering uncertainty – above their life. Men linger. Knowing better, they paralyzed by mixed desires.

What motives cause men to linger?

• Wealth
• Success
• Identity
• Children who know nothing of God
• Position
• Roots
• Comfort

Lot just wasn’t sure. His hard work, two married daughters, position, wealth, and charming home screamed stay. Two strangers, who had performed a notable miracle and were now warning Lot of impending judgment, were whispering, “You have to go.”

To linger is folly, there will never be a more convenient season. Life only gets more complicated. Time does not repair a man’s estrangement from God. Instead, time moves men further away from Jesus’ plan.

Think About It!

1. Do you remember an opportunity you missed because you waited? Eventually, you realized what you had lost.
2. What are the decisions required for you to move closer to the middle of what Jesus is doing?
3. If, like Lot, you are of a mixed mind, causing you to delay your action for God for ten years, what implications is it likely to have for your children?

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