Help Get It Off Me

The things of this world are engineered to wrap around you like a blanket and whisper sweet lullabies in your ear to lull you to sleep. They cling and hang on you like humidity on a hot summer day in the south, causing you to run for the ac and a glass of sweet tea. (Or at least that is what I’ve been told. Yes, I live in Kentucky, but I have zero concept of humidity, as it just doesn’t bother me. But my husband is quick to let me know how “sticky” the air is on any given day.)

All the pretty trinkets, shinny objects and beckoning calls have a master plan of manipulation behind them. They are subtle. Slight. Barely noticeable. This is purposeful, of course, otherwise the brains behind the operation would not be able to keep the masses enthralled and engaged.

Let us turn now to a passage of scripture that may be familiar to you, to see an example of how this world can wrap around our hearts and tug at us to the point of pulling us backward.

But while he lingered, the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, for the Lord was merciful to him; and they brought him forth and set him outside the city and left him there. And when they had brought them forth, they said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you or stop anywhere in the whole valley; escape to the mountains of Moab, lest you be consumed.’

Then the Lord rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of the heavens. He overthrew, destroyed and ended those cities and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:16-17, 24-26)

Sodom and Gomorrah

The names of these ancient cities conjure thoughts of judgment, destruction and damnation. The sins committed in these and the surrounding cluster of towns was heinous enough God sought to wipe them off the face of the Earth.

Most memorable to this story is Lot’s wife. There is not much we are told about this woman. We don’t even know her name. Just a title. The wife of a man who chose the Jordan Valley because it was good in his eyes. His uncle Abraham gave him the first choice, no argument. Lot selected and Abraham would take the left over. (*read Genesis 13 for the full story)

But sometimes what appears to be lush and green on the surface, is a result of a sewage leak deep in the ground. Filth of every kind imaginable. This is what Lot moved his wife and two daughters into. A people so consumed by evil, they could not think nor act in any other manner.

However, God is merciful. He is beyond kind and patient. He allowed this lone family the opportunity to leave and to be spared the full wrath of His righteous anger with only one stipulation- Don’t Look Back.

I have heard many a sermon about Lot’s wife. Warnings of holding onto the things of the temporary too tightly. Urgent heeding to learn the lesson of completely letting go of all this world has to offer and never look over your shoulder in longing.

What I haven’t heard, is sympathy for this woman. Hear me out. I am absolutely NOT condoning in any way her disobedience, but what I want us to ponder today is a struggle she may have had within her heart that we all could wrestle with unaware.

We are not told how long they lived there before they were literally dragged out of the city, but it was long enough their daughters had found soon to be husbands. (Genesis 19:14) There was connection and community. They would have had neighbors and friends they were leaving behind. Perhaps families they knew with small children.

All the lines in our lives, connecting to all the dots of people, places and things create a web around us not easily broken. It becomes familiar and safe and all we know. Comfort in the day to day. I dare say some of us would struggle with the pain of leaving behind a life we knew, people we interacted with daily and young men you envisioned becoming a part of your family. The heart would ache and sorrow would be strong.

This is the tension we live in. Make no mistake and do not underestimate its power. She did not realize the pull this city had on her heart. Do you realize areas in your life where you have unhealthy attachments to the place where you live? It’s so easy to overlook. This is why we should be asking God to search our hearts and find anything within that is not of Him. Ask Jesus to reveal to you the things you hold too tightly in your palm, which belong to the Prince of the power of the air.

It takes diligence and determination to overcome the beauty of this age and keep our focus on Heaven alone. It’s far too easy to fall in love with everything we see around us, just like Lot’s wife. The drift is real. Complacency is the greatest evil not only of our time, but for biblical times as well. Remember- “A little leaven, leavens the whole lump.” (Gal. 5:9) It doesn’t take much of the all the glitz and glamor from the here and now, to pull us away from the yet to come.

Be alert and stay sober minded. Again, examine your heart and see what is pulling your time and attention away from the Lord, even in the smallest measure.

Work?

Social Media?

Gaming?

Shopping?

Kid’s activities?

Entertainment?

I have taken inventory this week and realize I need to cut out my social media scrolling and regain much needed focus. We are but flesh- so easily distracted.

I challenge you to begin unwinding, unwrapping and detangling the web this world envelopes us in. Some may be larger than others, but no matter the size, it’s best to clean house periodically and stay on top of things.

I pray strength and honesty over you as you strip the things of this earth off of you and make sure your oil jars are full, your righteous robes are pressed and clean and you have the full mind of Christ at the ready.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help from a trusted, Godly friend or pastor. Grab an accountability partner and have them ready in your corner. It takes a village to get through this life without having some of the effects draped on you like a wet beach towel.

And fight!

Fight to get the junk of this world off of you. I can’t help but picture the scene from The Lord of the Rings where Frodo is caught in a web in Shelob’s lair. He manages to pull his sword (Sting) free and begins to violently hack away at the spiders silks, for he can hear her approaching.

Hack away dear friends, like your life depends upon it- because it does.