Abram was offered wealth by the king of Sodom, but he refused. Why was that? Because Abram knew, if he accepted the offer, then one day the king of Sodom would claim that it was he who had made Abram rich, while Abram knew for sure that all his wealth was a gift from the Most High God, creator of heavens and earth.
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich (Genesis 14:21-23).
There will always be an offer from Sodom who try to seduce and persuade us so that one day we will leave the God we worship and love. What does Sodom talk about? Sodom always talks about wealth and pleasures of life.
“Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49).
If the offer of Sodom comes to us, can we reject it like Abram rejected it? There are several principles that should be noted so that we can reject the offer of Sodom:
1. Sodom always offers the pleasures of life without having to leave God at first. But once we are trapped into it, we will be enslaved by it.
Initial offer of the king of Sodom to Abram was to exchange his wealth with Abram’s people, not with his God. But it was only the first trap. Abram knew for sure, if he accepted the offer, in just a matter of time he would soon become his slaves. So eventually Abram is no longer become the servant of God, but the servant of Sodom.
Those who accept the offer of Sodom eventually will crucify their God.
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified (Rev. 11:8).
2. Sodom is trapping and binding. When we are trapped in it, it will be very difficult to break away from its bond.
Once we are trapped in Sodom, it is very difficult to break away from it, because Sodom is trapping and binding. Even when Sodom was destroyed, Lot’s wife was still difficult to remove Sodom from his heart.
Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:24-26).
For those of you who today are still trapped in Sodom, take a unanimous decision to quickly get out of it, because there will be time Sodom will be destroyed by God.
3. The tendency of heart that is double-minded will make us see Sodom like the garden of the Lord as well as the land of Egypt.
The heart tendency that is not entirely fixed to the Lord will make our point of view to become blurred, making it difficult to distinguish between the blessings of God and the temptations of Sodom. That’s what happened in the life of Lot:
“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar” (Gen. 13:10).
Lot had a heart that was not entirely fixed to God. Half of his heart fixed on God, but half of his heart fixed on wealth and pleasures of life. That’s why when he saw Sodom, his vision blurred. The Bible records he saw Sodom like the garden of the Lord, but also saw it like the land of Egypt. And that’s why he came in and became part of Sodom.
The tendency of the heart determines point of view, and point of view determines what we choose. That’s why if the tendency of our hearts is wrong, our choices are almost certainly wrong.
In the end we have to set the tendency of our hearts. We must decide what we choose: GOD or wealth. GOD or gold. We can not serve two masters.
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matt. 6:24).
Also read: Life or Death.
