by Steve Hale
"Remember Lot's wife" ( Luke 17:32, NKJ).
As Lot lingered in Sodom, the LORD had mercy on him. J'he angels took him, his wife, and his daughters by the hands to take them away from the doomed city.
He was told to flee to the mountains, but he begged for further mercy, and asked a small village, Zoar, be spared as they fled there. Again, the LORD had mercy on him, and did not begin to consume the wicked cities of the plain until he arrived in Zoar.
"But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt" (Gen. 19:26). No doubt, Lot's wife bemoaned the destruction of friends, crops, and their house. She looked at her past and let it consume her!
Surely, we can look at the past in the sense of looking at our mistakes and doing better. But, unlike Lot's wife, we must not live in the past. We cannot succeed and glorify God if we "what if' ourselves to death! In this sense, don't look back! "Remember Lot's wife."
This is so true in the home. Discontented married couples commonly ask "what if' I married "John Ed" or "Sally Sue" instead of the "clod" I did. The fallacy here is living in a fantasy world, and a distinct lack of faith in God's providence. God's providence is wonderful as He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift ( James 1: 17). Our selfish society is a "throwaway" generation. If it doesn't work, "throw it away!"
God hates the "throwing away" of marriages (Mal. 2:16). He wants us to be mature enough to work through problems, and demonstrate fidelity and mutual dedication ( 1 Corinthians 7: 1-5; Ephesians 5:22-33). Don't look back, but go forward. Re-kindle the romance, adjust to differences, and grow together!
In the church, we must not become like Lot's wife. It's great to remember the dedicated pioneers of the faith, and particularly those so important in the history of the home congregation. But, while we remember and even honor our predecessors, let us not be so consumed, we don't deal with the present.
It's doubly difficult in an area like ours where there are so many churches. There are those "nomad" Christians that drift from church-to-church. If something doesn't go to suit them, off they go somewhere else. This lends itself to spiritual immaturity and constant discontentment.
Just as one's spouse deserves more than this, so does the Lord! In the real world, we must work with people and through their problems and ours. We must leam to love each other even though there are those abnormalities and flaws.
There is surely one place we don't want to look back and be full of regrets, and that's before God in the Judgment.
We're all closer to that than ever! Leam from the past, but don't be consumed by it. "Remember Lot's wife."