Watch Where You Pitch Your Tent.
Today’s Bible Reading: Gen 11:1-14:24, 1 Chron 1:24-27
Gen 13:12
Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
For the most part it doesn’t matter what you live in, but where you live. A mansion mislocated is out of place. Location is everything. Likewise, in life we must be careful where we “pitch our tent”. The wrong spot can bring devastation rather than delight. It can cause hardship rather than happiness. And it can create compromise rather than commitment.
Abraham and Lot had accumulated a large number of livestock. The land was not able to support them. Strife ensued between their herdsman. Their fights over grazing rights increased. An alternative was purposed. Abraham permitted Lot to choose a land for himself and his herds. Which every direction he chose, Abraham would go the opposite direction. Lot chose the fertile land near Sodom. He pitched his tent there.
The problem was the cities around him. Sodom was a deplorable city. The men of the city were “exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.” The pastures were great, but the people were evil. He pitched his tent there. It became his home.
Yet the influence of the inhabitants around him led to his iniquity. His sheep flourish, but he fell. The people began to wear upon him, drawing him into their depravity. He began to accommodate what they adhered to and to accept what they advocated. Eventually, we find Lot settling in the city, his daughters married to men of the city. When God came to destroy the city we find Lot reluctant to leave. He had to be dragged by the hand out of city. He might not have been so greatly shaped by Sodom had he “pitched his tent” elsewhere. Location is everything.
There is a truth hidden here. We must be careful where we “pitch our tent”. He erect it close to Sodom, without settling there. The closer we come to those outside the faith the more likely we are to fall. Obvious we are to plant ourselves in the lives of the lost. We are to invest in them as we show and share the gospel among them. But we must be careful not to become like them. We are to evangelize with our life and lips, without embracing their lifestyle. We are to love them without becoming like them. We are to be the influencer, not the influenced. To be the one who is affecting change in them, rather than being changed by them. Here is a fine line that is easily crossed. Compromise is always looming its head to lure us into its lair. It is drawing us to make concessions and accommodations. It is slowly migrating us toward Sodom and compelling us to pitching our tent closer and closer until we are settled there.
Today consider where you have “pitched your tent”. Contemplate where God has placed you to be a light of gospel to those around you. Reflect on your relationships, the people you regularly associate with. Thank God for those who challenge and encourage you to grow in your faith. Pray those who are alienated from the faith. Ask God to give you strength and stamina to be a gospel influencer in their life. Ask him to enable you live life among them without living a life like them. Ask Him to help you guide where you “pitch your tent”.
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