One of the greatest determiners of your future is who you associate with. We often think that we can live a wild life and never pay the penalty for it. Abraham’s nephew lot shows us the folly of such ideas. Abraham has to rescue him from himself. Below is a summary of a devotion from 32 days with Abraham by Mark Etter. You can have the full devotion by clicking here. You can have a sample of three full devotions from the book and one of the Bible studies by clicking here. The whole book is available on Amazon.com as a softcover book or for kindle.

Focus Passage: Gen. 14:1-13

Your friends determine your fate. If you don’t believe it, look at your kids. The friends that your children choose determine their future. Let a child get in with the wrong group and you will have nothing but trouble. It really is no different for adults. Adults who frequent the bars or hang around with people who have trouble holding down a job will be pulled down by their friends. This is the first battle mentioned in the Bible. Its importance is its strong connection to Abram and Lot. The five cities of the plains rebel against their masters, the four cities of the east. “the king of Sodom . . . marched out and drew up their battle lines.” (v.8) The conquering army takes the goods and food of Sodom and Gomorrah as they depart. Such bounty was used to pay for and feed their troops.

Lot had moved from outside the city (13:12) to moving into the city (14:12). Now he would share their fate. “They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions.” (v.12) He would pay the price for their loss because he had now become one of them. He had thrown his portion in with Sodom and now was reaping the fruit of his choices. The capture of Lot demonstrates that you will share the fate of those who you call friends.

At first, while the battle is raging in the valley below, Abram is living safely up in the hills of Palestine. “Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite.”(v.13) The battle never threatens his flocks or his people. Having never allied himself with the people of Sodom, he and his people were safe up on the hill and were unaffected by the battle below. He had cast his portion with the Lord.

Who do you associate with? No one can enter the house of the worldly and not be untouched. Their fate will affect your work, your family, and your life. They may lure you in with their riches or excitement, but you will also share in their destiny. We cannot expect God to protect us from harm when we try to live in the wild animal’s den. We do have a choice. We can live safely in the hills with God or dare to live in the midst of evil. As you think of your own life, consider how it would be blessed if you sought out Godly friends who could nurture you and help you draw closer to the Lord. 

• ·         Which of your friends tend to bring out the best in you? How could you develop those relationships so that they lift you even higher?