Let me tell you a story. 

Long, long ago there lived an old man in a village. The village’s people had, according to them, a very nice life. However, the man was very worried about the town’s way of life. 

You see, none of the town’s inhabitants were worried about moral values. There were no sexual boundaries. Key parties where everyone threw their keys into a bowl and you go home with the one whose key you chose, were the order of the day. 

The more deviant, the better, was their motto. 

The old man saw this decay. Daily he sat down with the leaders of the village and talked to them about the wrongdoings of the villagers. But they just turned up their noses and turned away and said nothing. Because how could they say anything when they were part of this orgy? 

Disheartened, the old man walked out of the town’s offices. His heart ached for each of the people who were on their way to eternal death. These people would never see the way to heaven. 

One day, God simply had enough of all these people wallowing in sin. He called the old man closer and told him that because He had seen how the villagers were messing up their lives, He had decided to wipe out the village. 

The old man tried to argue against it. His heart groaned for the lost people. He wanted so much to have another chance to see if he could do something more to open their eyes to what they were doing wrong. 

Then God said that if he could find ten people who were not part of these lawless people, He would spare the town. But in this big town, the old man couldn’t even find ten people who put God first in their lives. 

God warned the old man and his wife and children just before He was going to raze the town to the ground. With a heavy heart, the man took his belongings and fled. 

This is of course the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham. 

It was really hard for Abraham to see what was happening here. His heart was broken. His soul wept. He really cared about these people who were on the wrong path. He would do anything, even bargain with God, just to spare their lives. After all, his nephew, Lot, was also a resident of the town! 

8Surrounded by moral rot day after day after day, that righteous man was in constant torment. 

Lot really cared for these sinful people and his heart broke for them. I wonder if our hearts still break for people. Does your heart also weep for the lost people in your town? Is your soul tormented every time you run into the people who miss the point and waste their lives?  

Perhaps we should all ask God to again make our hearts sensitive for those who are lost so that we can make His light shine in their lives. 

Scripture
2 Peter 2:4-8  

Reflection
What do you see every day?
What does it do to your heart?
Or are you part of it? 

Prayer
Father, sometimes I look away. Sometimes my heart is hard. Soften my heart for others and let me do something. Amen.