The Lord “delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)” (II Peter 2:7-8).
The people of Sodom were not closet homosexuals. They were shameless and open with their perversion, especially after dark. When Isaiah described the brazen attitude of Jews centuries later, he said “they declare their sin as Sodom; they do not hide it” (Isa. 3:9). There was no guilt or embarrassment. They were beyond that point just like some today.
Lot was a righteous man who lived in this environment. He heard them talk about their disgusting sins. He saw them promote their perversion openly. This happened every day.
If you see or hear something shocking only once in a great while, you at least have time to recover. But when this happens over and over it tests and torments your soul.
Today the devil is pounding us on every side constantly. Hardly a day goes by without Satan shoving evil in our face. Just as the men of Sodom tried to break down the door of Lot’s house when he refused them, transvestites and homosexuals today are ready to destroy our civilization to have their way. This is especially vexing to those of us who never saw this public display when we were growing up. But such perversion is not the only thing that torments us. People in our land talk about sex outside of marriage like it is nothing. Their language is filthy and full of profanity. Alcohol is their life and their master. The devil is really having his way.
Meanwhile, Christians have to endure. We hate this moral insanity and it both scares and angers us. We fear for the future because our children and grandchildren will have to live in such a world. At the same time, we are filled with righteous indignation. What are we to do?
- Fight the good fight of faith (I Tim. 6:12). Don’t give in or compromise even for friends or family. Jesus said that we must love Him more than anyone else (Matt. 10:34-37).
- Read your Bible more. God left these stories to give us patience and hope (Rom. 15:4). There is nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9). If saints in Bible times could make it through their trials, so can you.
- Trust in the Lord (Prov. 3:5-6). God sees all this evil. He saw it before you were born. We will never fully understand why He allows such things and why He doesn’t put an end to them when we expect. We must humble ourselves before Him and have faith that the righteous Lord will set things right in His own way and at His own time. God did put an end to the ungodliness at Sodom.
- Thank God and praise His name when you do have a break from all this craziness. No matter how bad things get, there are times when things slow down and you can rest your soul (Ecc. 7:14; Prov. 16:7).
- Learn to value quiet time at home and worship with the saints. It is peaceful to know that you won’t hear bad language at church or have to be around wicked people in your house. Thank God for these places!
- Look forward to heaven where there will be none of these troubles. We are foreigners on the earth (I Pet. 2:11; Heb. 11:13-16). The more evil we see, the more we should take refuge in the promise of heaven. That should always put a peaceful smile on our face.
- Admit that we bring some of this stress on ourselves. Lot chose to live in Sodom. We choose to turn on the television or get on the internet. We decide what we will read and listen to, and we do so knowing it will likely leave us feeling miserable. There are times when you cannot avoid seeing and hearing bad things, but these are situations where you can.
We have a long hard road ahead of us. But be of good cheer. The way is not long and the struggle will make heaven even sweeter.
– Kerry Duke
