“Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.” (Genesis 19:12–14, ESV)
But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. One of the key tenants of faith is that we are supposed to transfer it to our family. In fact, the Bible tells us in the New Testament that such men are qualified to lead the local Church.
Before a man could be an “overseer,” a New Testament term for pastor, we are told, “He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:4–5, ESV) Don’t you love that closing question?
Respect for those who were older in Biblical times was a huge part of the culture. Honoring parents and those who were more mature was part of the life-blood of a community. So, when we look into Lot’s life, we see he had been in Sodom long enough to allow his two daughters to be engaged and build a relationship with those men. Yet, when he comes with the all-important warning from God Himself, the reaction of these “sons-in-law” was shocking, to say the least.
In other words, Lot was good enough to give away his daughters as wives but not good enough to listen to about serious matters. Faith has a gravitas to it when it is possessed and when it possesses us. We all know though that there is a huge difference between a talkie-faith and a faith that is walked each day.
Day by day we have to be looking around, evaluating to what extent we are influencing those closest to us with our relationship to Jesus Christ. Do our loved ones take us seriously because we live what we say we believe? Or, does our influence fail to make an impact in their lives? Lot’s failure reminds us there is so much more to our days than making money. We are called to transfer our faith to our family.
Faith Filled Fridays hope to boost your trust in God and accelerate your daring and courage in everyday life. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each encouragement out of a heart that has known both great joy and great loss – his wife of 38 years, 5 months and 2 days was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. Through every experience, God has proven Himself more than faithful and trustworthy. He welcomes your comments below.
