Genesis 19:1-11. 1The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
Have you ever felt like you were just faking your way through the Christian life? I have. Or maybe you get frustrated by those around you who claim Christ but seem to be far more fake than real. Christians who are living like the world while naming the name of Jesus can be a real drag.
This sure seems to be the case with Lot. Lot will be counted among the righteous in the New Testament, but it sure seems like he’s barely trying to live a righteous life. While Abraham and Sarah are wrestling with God through their faith journey, Lot seems to be experiencing no internal battle at all. He far too easily “pitched his tent toward Sodom” when his servants and Abraham’s couldn’t find peace at the Oaks of Mamre. Then, after being rescued by Uncle Abe from the “Four Kings,” he quite naturally goes back to Sodom. That’s where we find him here in chapter 19. Not only living in Sodom, but sitting in the gate, which is an idiom for ruling.
If we were to place Genesis 18 and 19 side by side and compare their early verses, we would see that the author is intentionally calling for us to compare the hospitality of Abraham and Lot. No less than eight times the same words or phrases are used, meant to draw out how these two men both practiced the righteousness of showing hospitality in their setting. Both Abraham and Lot are found in a “doorway.” Both receive angelic visitors. Both prepare meals. Both receive a divine message. Both use a door to create a separation (Sarah behind the door and the angels behind the door).
But a close reading reveals quite glaringly that Lot falls far short of Abraham’s example. Remember, Lot doesn’t know that the city is facing imminent doom. Nor does he know of Abraham’s intercession. But Lot knows where he lives. So when he sees the two visitors, an almost immediately recognizes that they are special, he goes way out of his way, almost desperately, to make sure that they do not sleep in the public square – he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house.
Abraham washed their feet. No time for foot washing in Sodom. Abraham served bread, milk, and a veal dinner. Unleavened bread in Sodom. The whole vibe is one of fear and haste. Lot just wants to get these two guys out of town. Why would they even stop here? Everyone knows to keep moving past Sodom.
Then, exactly what Lot knew would happen, happens. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”
And this is where we see that Lot is truly the anti-Abraham. Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”
Our instincts aren’t wrong here. This is deplorable behavior by Lot. And there is no cultural excuse to be made for him concerning the value of house guests or even the value of divine messengers (who can clearly take care of themselves). Now we see just how far Lot has sunk. He goes out to the men to promote justice, do not act so wickedly by raping my houseguests, but his justice is so fake, so misguided, so tragic, that it instantly negates any good intentions he may have had.
To be sure, Abraham’s behavior has not been perfect. He too has endangered he women he loves, and he will do it again. But it is in Abraham’s failures that we have seen the true nature of his faith. In the end, Lot will save his daughters (in fact, they will be the only three to survive the destruction of Sodom), but the damage has been done. Abraham will be asked to sacrifice his son from faith. Lot sacrificed his daughters from a complete lack of faith. Or fake faith. We may never know Lot’s true motivation for placing the strangers over his own children, but clearly it was not a good or godly one. It wasn’t just. It didn’t protect the innocent daughters or seek to put an end to the sin of the city. It only sought to transfer the results of the sin from one victim to another in an attempt to look like he was doing what was right.
Aren’t you glad that you’re not like Lot.
Sorry, that was sarcasm. The truth is, we are all Lot. We have all tried to fake righteousness while refusing to leave our Sodom. We have all tried to make the ends justify the means. We all try to cover over one sin with another (possibly worse) sin.
“Fake it ‘til you make it” is not the greatest spiritual growth strategy, is it? But to some degree we’ve all been there. Usually we engage this kind of “imposter syndrome” when we feel like the expectations placed on us are just too high. Did Lot feel this way? Did he feel the pressure from Abraham to be his adopted legacy? Did he feel ashamed that he would never be God’s “chosen one” like Abraham was? Or was Lot just a selfish twit? Either way, it is sad that he never embraced the grace of God. He didn’t need to be Abraham, he just needed to trust Abraham’s God. In the same way, you don’t need to be Jesus (or any other Christian) today, you just need to trust Jesus’ God. The Father.
We’re all going to get it wrong far more often than we get it right, but God’s not asking us to get it right. He remembers that we are dust, that we are sinful, damaged, and conflicted. Christ got it right for us! So God only asks us to trust him. In Christ, no fake obedience and no fake repentance needed. Just real trust. And then the obedience and repentance will flow naturally as they did for Abraham, through prayer, and arguing, and even laughing at God.
But in the end, trusting him, free from all expectation and shame.
You: In what ways are you faking your way through faith?
You in Christ: How does union with Christ make I so that you can live an imperfect, but real, existence before God?
Christ in you: Can you identify any of the ways your righteousness is fake (ends justifying the means, wo wrongs making a right, covering one sin with another)? How can Christ allow you to replace these strategies with true righteousness and justice?
Prayer: Father, I don’t want to be an imposter. I want to be true and authentic before you. Help me to see that with Jesus there are no unmet expectations and no shame, just real righteous living. Amen.
To Live is Christ 