Selfless

"So Abram said to Lot, 'Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.' Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom." -Genesis 13.8-12

Abram and his nephew has grown wealthy. They have great flocks and herds, so great that the land cannot support both of them. Quarrels begin to break out between the herdsmen, and Abram wants to avoid family quarrels. And so he proposes a separation. The land has been promised to him by God, but we see here the selflessness of a man.

He allows Lot to choose. Abram doesn't demand where he could have. He's the elder of the two, Lot is his nephew. This alone gives him seniority in the matter. But on top of that, God has promised the land to Abram, Lot is no where in the picture of the promise. The whole land is Abram's, and yet, we don't see him force his right. Rather he selflessly offers the choice to his nephew.

Humans are naturally and innately selfish, that just the simply truth. We don't have to learn the words "No" or "Mine" they come quite naturally to us when we are children, and they are words we usually never forget. But a real man doesn't demand things go his way.

Marriage has been a great teacher for me in this. When I was single I did what I wanted, went where I wanted, bought what I wanted. Then I got married and all of that changed. Now life is no longer about me, but we. There is another opinion I need to seek. Another person with opinions, passions, and desires that I need to take into account. And as the family grows, it becomes all the more important.

Where are you demanding your way and your rights? What damage is it doing. We'll see shortly the damage it causes Lot and his family. But the way of selflessness leads only to peace and blessings. There is nothing that makes me happier than seeing my wife happy. That is what selflessness accomplishes.

We live one of two ways, selfishly, or selflessly, which way do you choose?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor