Lessons from Lot

So...

I know I said I wouldn't do this, but here's something that I've been thinking about this morning...

Money is really not all it's cracked up to be.

I mean, you have to have enough to pay for the things you need. You have to be able to provide well for your family, and building up a surplus is nice to help others around you. But I just don't think that it's the end all be all of human existence.

I don't think there's anyone who thinks that it is. Not really anyway.

But take a look at Lot. Lot and Abraham are living close together. Lot is Abraham's nephew, but they're really more like brothers and friends - they love each other like that. Abraham even goes to battle for Lot. There's a problem, though. They're both rich, and their cattle and servants are too crowded. So Abraham, out of a wise and generous heart, says - look, we're too good to fight about things. Let's divide up the land - you choose which side you want, and I'll take the other. Lot looks at the land and decides to take the lush, fertile lands near the Jordan River. Abraham gets what's left.

In choosing the easier land, in choosing the more desirable location, Lot opens himself up to all kinds of problems. His land is overrun several times by invading armies. He becomes a prisoner and loses much of his property. He becomes associated with disreputable people living in and around Sodom and Gomorrah. He eventually loses his home and his wife is turned to salt. He even ends up fathering children with his daughters. Yeah - life is not so good for Lot.

Abraham, meanwhile, is gaining favor from the Lord, being tested and found faithful. He obtains incredible blessings and covenants, things which are still in force today. His life is not easy, but it is full and rich and satisfying.

The pioneers of my ancestry were given much the same choice. People returning from Oregon and California in the mid 1800s told the trekking Saints that those locations were ideal for settlement - plenty of water, good soils, abundant resources. The journey was a little longer, but the effort was worth it. Brother Brigham, however, in his usual visionary way, indicated that the Lord had other things in store for them. They settled in the Salt Lake Valley and the land of the desert surrounding that area. It was much like Abraham deciding to let others have the land that was more desirable, hoping for some time to grow stronger by themselves in a mountain desert retreat. This was somewhat successful - they had a few years of relative isolation, and even after the exposure of outside influences they were able to develop a culture that was strong and cohesive. It is a legacy that we still enjoy today.

I have seen this in my own life, as well. It was not an easy decision for me to move to Texas. It was the right one, but it was not an easy one. We had things pretty good where we were. We had friends and neighbors who cared about us. Family was close by, and we enjoyed their association. The social environment was very congenial, and we liked the natural surroundings, too. Life was good and easy. Too easy. We were never required to leave our comfort zone. We contributed actually very little, because little was ever demanded from us. Now we are in a place where we can contribute much because that is what is needed. And although difficult and tiring at times, we also find ourselves stretched and strengthened by the work.

Sometimes the path we need in life is not the easy road. It seems that the blessings of eternity are often tied with the path of self denial and sacrifice and altruism. If we are to garner the great things of a celestial nature, we must learn to abandon selfish, worldly appetites. This is not easy, at least not initially. But the course becomes easier once resolved and embarked upon. We find ourselves perhaps more tested, but like the tempering of the forge, we find ourselves more useful and strong thereby.