Lot: Signs of a backsliding man…
When we talk about great men of the Bible, we talk about Abraham and his faith. We talk about David and his dependence on Elohim and his repentance from sin. From Joseph we learn about Elohim’s care and how to be steadfast in faith. From Job we learn about patience. Then there is Lot, from whose life we learn about making bad choices and how they affect our lives.
 There is one more aspect of Lot’s life in which we examine the life of a backsliding Christian.
We all know the story of Lot. He was Abraham’s nephew and along with Abraham he went out of Ur of the Chaldees and dwelt in the promised land. They both prospered and when their herd multiplied greatly, there arose a conflict between their herdsmen. To stop this conflict from escalating, Abraham offered to Lot the choice of land and promised to go the other way. Lot saw that the land towards Sodom and Gomorrah was very pleasant to see and so he went that way.
There are some serious lessons we learn about a backsliding Christian from the life of Lot.

1. You walk by sight, rather than faith - Gen. 13:10. Lot looked up and saw that the land towards Sodom was very pleasant. He relied on his physical sight and saw prosperity. Abraham, on the other hand trusted in Elohim and did not let his eyesight deceive him. Remember, the sufferings and troubles of this world are nothing compared to the blessings we have in heaven.
2. You make decisions without praying - Gen. 13:11. When we face challenges in life and have to take tough decisions, we must ask Elohim’s guidance. The prophets of the OT prayed before undertaking any venture. We read in the Acts of the apostles how the disciples prayed and asked the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all their ways. Abraham prayed, Isaac prayed, Jabob prayed but Lot  did not ask the Lord for guidance. He trusted in his human intellect. A wrong step will lead us to disaster.
3.  You are comfortable around worldly and wicked people - Gen. 13:12; 19:1…The men of Sodom were wicked people. They sinned before the Lord continually. Lot knew very well about the people of Sodom but he decided to cast his lot with them rather than staying with Abraham and enjoying the blessings. His attitude is one that we see today… ‘when they do not harm us, we can be with them’.
4.  You are a continual burden to God's people - Gen. 14:11-16. A godly man A person who is worried about his worldly prosperity more than his spiritual life will always be a source of worry to his well wishers. Lot was always a burden to Abraham. Even though Lot went away from Abraham, Abraham still worried over his nephew and rescued Lot when he was taken captive by the Amraphel king of Shinar, Abraham fought the kings and rescued Lot. Again, when the two angels wanted to destroy Sodom, Abraham pleaded for Lot and his family.
5. You seek to honor men rather than God - Gen. 19:1. Though Lot was living in Sodom, he had not forgotten his religious upbringing. He showed respect towards strangers as was his previous custom, but did not give Elohim the glory due to him. Even today, in church or in society, we tend to honour men for their status rather than giving Elohim the glory.
6. You have experienced a compromise in moral standards - Gen. 19:8. There is a creeping compromise in most of us. We would like to go with the world rather than follow after Elohim’s standards. We are willing to sacrifice our moral integrity to please someone. We feel that the sin we are committing is a small one which Elohim would overlook. In the same way Lot was willing to sacrifice his daughters honour to protect his guests.
7. Your testimony is not taken seriously - Gen. 19:14. The effect of Lot’s life of compromise is clearly seen. When he spoke with utmost seriousness to his sons-in-law about the judgment of God, they did not believe him. When your life is not an example to others, no one will believe you even if you preach the gospel. Your testimony is not taken seriously and as such you are not trying to win souls - Gen. 19:15; 18:32. Even though Elohim had granted him wealth and prosperity, Lot just lived his life (Lot had won no one outside of his family.) He had seen what wonderful things Elohim had done in his and Abraham’s life and he had this wonderful opportunity to preach about Elohim and his grace but Lot did nothing. He could not save his own family. His wife wanted to see what she was leaving behind, his daughters committed sin with him and his sons-in-law mocked him. He that winneth souls is wise(Prov.11:30)
8. You linger about obeying God's word - Gen. 19:15-16. Many times, when we are in doubt, undecided as to what action we should take, we will hear a small still voice saying, ’this is the way, walk in it’(Isa.30:21). But we trust in own wisdom and hesitate because we walk by sight. We are not ready to listen to Elohim’s word which is actually easier to do than doing what seems right in our eyes.
9. You deny God's word - Gen. 19:18-20. We simply refuse to listen to Elohim’s word. We would rather listen to a person whom we can see physically than listen to the invisible Creator. The angels asked Lot to run away without looking back, to flee to the mountains, but Lot wanted to rest in a small city which again appeared very pleasant. He did not learn any lessons from living in Sodom. He refused to acknowledge Elohim’s authority.

“… know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (Jas.4:4). The choices that we make in this world affect our chances of entering into the heavenly world. We cannot afford to live a life of compromise. Let us learn a lesson from the life of Lot and stop compromising. Let us live lives which bring honour to Yahweh.