The Destructive Nature of Fear

“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.” (Ge 19:30 AV)

 

If anything could characterize Lot, it would be a man who was controlled by his own fear.  His whole life was like this.  We get the first indication as the herdsmen of Lot and Abraham strive over water.  Abraham gives his nephew the choice of land.  They will part so as not to cause unrepairable damage to their relationship.  Lot chooses the plains as his part because it was full of lush and green fields.  Fear of barren mountainous land drove him to pick the safer choice.  From the plains, Lot abandons farming and moves to Sodom.  As his family grows, they marry and spiritually move away from the LORD.  Three men arrive at Sodom to warn Lot of pending judgment.  Because of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, the LORD is going to rain volcanic discharge on the land and completely burn it up.  Lot invites these three men into his house and the homosexuals come knocking at his door.  They threaten Lot and demand he sends out the three visitors so they could rape them.  Instead, Lot offers his last two daughters still living at home as the means to satisfy their lust.  Fear reigns again.  The three angels tell Lot to flee to the mountains because until he leaves, the judgment of God cannot come.  Lot pleads with God to give him permission to flee to a nearby, yet much smaller city.  He fears the unknown of the mountains to the known of city dwelling.  When he sees the smoke and fire, Lot changes his mind again.  Instead of fleeing to the nearby city of Zoar, which was God’s second plan, Lot goes to the mountains.  Again, motivated by fear.  This life of fear is not lost on his daughters.  They react the same way their father always lived.  Seeing as two cities were destroyed, the two daughters of Lot feared they may never find a man to marry and thus decide to become pregnant by their father, Lot.  Motivated by fear all around, two nations are born from this fear that becomes Israel’s worst enemies.

Fear can be contagious.  Fear can also be a bad habit to break.  I love dogs.  Dogs are a microcosm of our human existence.  They often reflect the emotional state of their owners.  Sometimes they compliment them.  Watching my dogs over the years has taught me a lot about myself and others.  We have had about six or seven dogs over the years.  Two of them we had as pups.  The other five were rescue dogs.  Problems and all, I prefer rescue dogs.  In many ways, they are easier to train in the simple commands of life.  However, they can come with severe problems they inherited from previous experiences.  We had this one dog who was a Fox Hound mix.  He was laser-focused and of a high-intensity spirit.  Relaxing was not in his nature.  He was always looking out for quarry.  To try to get him to chill out, we got a lab from a rescue.  We thought the easy-going demeanor or the lab would influence the high-strung nature of the hound.  There was a problem with this, however.  The lab was riddled with anxiety.  He was afraid of his own shadow.  He noticed anything that changed.  If a chair was left out from the table, he would notice and run from it.  If there was a package, box, book, or anything left on the table, the same reaction came about.  Sundays were particularly difficult for him because I wore a suit on Sundays.  Every other day of the week, I did not.  He ran from me.  When a storm approach, even if it was eight hours away, he would run to the basement and hide in his cage.  We thought the confidence of the hound would influence the skittishness of the lab and the easy-going nature of the lab would influence the high-strung nature of the hound.  Not so much.  Just the opposite happened.  The negative traits of one affected the other.  The hound became skittish and the lab become high-strung.

Fear became the downfall of Lot and all his seed.  A bad thing happens when fear is the overriding emotion in our lives.  It not only affects us.  It affects all who are touched by it.  Especially if was are one who serves in leadership.  If we are afraid, then others around us will be, too.  I can’t get beyond the cascading effect of Lot’s fear.  It cost him everything.  He lost his family, his wife, and his daughter’s future.  All that Lot had was lost to his terrified spirit.  If he would simply have had the courage to do the right thing when he had opportunity to do so, things would have turned out very differently.  Lot is a type of pre-rapture church.  It is the precedent of Lot which Peter eludes to when he writes,  “And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:” (2Pe 2:7-9 KJV)  One wonders if fear is what will define the church before the rapture.  Once we fear, then we become a sponge that soaks in the wickedness of the world.  Time to live by faith and not by fear.