Longing After Sin

Genesis 19.24-26
" 24 Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt."

Do you long after sin? That's a tough, brutal question, but it is a question we all should ask ourselves as followers of Christ. We should be careful to examine our hearts so that we can purge our sinful nature of the things that displease the Lord. Unfortunately, many of us do long after sin. Beloved, it is so easy to do. There are so many things in sin that are so easy to return to. Men know that sexual pleasure is just a click or a magazine away, and society has invaded television, magazines, billboards, and radio with sexual enticement. Likewise, our consumerist culture lures in women to lust for shopping extravaganzas, million dollar houses, and unrealistic expectations about their bodies. Yes, sin is rampant in our culture, and it is so easy to turn to. This is nothing new; we like to think that our culture is unique in its wickedness, but as Genesis 19 shows us, we are not.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah demonstrates how a wicked, perverse, and sinful people ultimately fall into God's judgment. Yet even those whom God spares can fall into the allure of such a place. In Genesis 19, we see that God spares Lot's family from the "burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah." Unfortunately, we learn that "Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Many people question why this is so. What's the big deal about looking back? Yet again we see the failure of the English Biblical translations. A quick look into the Hebrew intent of verse 26 reveals to us that the phrase "looked back" actually means this: "to scan, i.e. Look intently at; by implication, to regard with pleasure, favor or care -- (cause to) behold, consider, look (down), regard, have respect, see" (http://strongsnumbers.com/hebrew/5027.htm). Do you understand what was actually going on here? Lot's wife was not looking back simply to see the impressive view--she was longing for the sinful place. Her heart was still filled with the sinful nature.

Beloved, I wonder how many of us long after sin? How many times do we look back? "It's just a quick peek," we say. That is exactly how Satan wants us to think. You see, sin rarely overtakes us by force--it uses subtle subterfuge. It may seem to start out harmless enough, but soon we want more and more until it consumes us completely. We become, in essence, "a pillar of salt." What good is a pillar of salt? Nothing! It is stagnant, speechless, unloving, and is only used for the devourment of others. With that in mind, beloved, let us NEVER long after sin. Search your heart! What's inside? Is Christ prevailing or is sin secretly ruling the kingdom of your heart? If so, ask Christ for forgiveness. Ask Christ to consume your heart. Ask for the endurance and strength to resist the sinful nature and to cling on to Christ. In order for that to happen, we must kill the flesh. Paul says in Galatians 2.19 that " [he has] been crucified with Christ and [he] no longer [lives], but Christ lives in [him]." Beloved, put away the flesh and put on Christ! Let the Holy Spirit search your heart and clean it. Jesus will purge the sinfulness in you and replace it with the holiness of God! Amen.

With love in Christ,



Austin Aldrich