CHOOSING GODLY WISDOM

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  03/14/23

In Genesis 13-19, we see the difference between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom embodied in Abraham and his nephew Lot. Once they separate at the crossroads in Canaan, the Bible says that Abraham built an altar to the Lord, but Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, a city whose people were living in great rebellion against God.

Lot may have thought, “A man like me is definitely not going to go over there. I’m just going to be near enough so that I can take a look at it. I want to admire it from a distance.” Yet day after day, he pitched his tent closer and closer to Sodom, following his own desires—the epitome of worldly wisdom.

Eventually, we see Lot progress to the final stage of compromise: “Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city” (Genesis 19:1). Lot is found at the entrance of Sodom, now a part of that miserable culture.

Contrast that with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says He was in the splendor and the glory of heaven, but, out of obedience to the Father, He came to earth and lived as the poorest of the poor.

Ask yourself: Am I like Lot, or am I like Jesus? Am I choosing to follow God’s will, or am I in the world and still of the world?

When we rely on our own reasoning and desires, we can rationalize anything we want—but when we treasure our relationship with Christ more than anything else, we will find that our desires are more and more aligned with His. Like Abraham, instead of inching closer and closer to a dangerous lifestyle, we will choose to build an altar to the Lord instead

Prayer: Lord, I confess my sins before You and ask that You prepare my heart to receive Your Word. Help me to be a powerful witness in the world without becoming like the world. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).