The Slippery Slope

No, this is not a strange story written by Lemony Snicket concerning a Series of Unfortunate Events. This is however, about a series of events that we all too often forget about. Romans 3:11-18 says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God (our sinful condition). All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one (our sinful actions). Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness (our sinful speech). Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes (our sinful lifestyle).” Parentheses added. Do you see the slippery slope? We all have a condition of sin and because of that condition; we slide down this proverbial slope that leads to utter destruction.

Genesis chapter 19 disturbs me a bit. While trying to finish a Bible study on Genesis, chapter 19 stopped me in my tracks and I had to step away for a while. Again, proving to me that there is more packed in Scripture than just a surface level understanding, Genesis 19 is chock full of interesting thoughts. If you need to read the chapter, please do so now. I want to focus on verses 1 through 11. What a strange chain of events! Lot, who went from pitching his tent “towards Sodom”, is now “sitting at the gate of Sodom” He went from being an outsider to someone in a leadership role, yet he is still described in Scripture as righteous. That is hard to grasp especially knowing the reputation of Sodom and the cities in the region. I’m not real sure I fully grasp that just yet.

Lot was not the only one on a Slippery Slope. The people of Sodom had been on that slope for a long time. A surface study of Sodom would reveal their final state rather than the sin that lead them there. As you know, we get the word Sodomy from the reputation of this city and the cities in the region, but I want to challenge you to look a little deeper to see the slippery slope they were on that brought them to Genesis 19. Honestly, this chapter makes me sick to my stomach when I consider all that is going on here. I imagine I feel the same sickness God felt when He considered the outcry (reputation) of Sodom and Gomorrah. The right and just response to their outcry is utter destruction down to ashes (2 Peter 2:6).

In order to set you on top of this Slippery Slope, I need you to understand what a city meant to people in the time of Abraham and Lot. A city meant, to these people, what a country side means to people today. Most people today move out to the country to escape the crime and danger of the city. In Lot’s time, people longed to be in a city because the country side was full of thugs and robbers (think of the “Good Samaritan” parable). A City meant safety, community, wealth, pleasure and refuge. Weary travelers would seek out a city to rest for the night and often times would just wrap themselves in a blanket while sleeping in the street. The street was the popular choice since Inns were often full, expensive and less safe. Can you imagine sleeping in the streets of a city today?

Now let’s look at Sodom. Ezekiel 16:49 says, “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.” Wow, this verse struck me pretty hard. Yet there are many more verses that highlight Sodom’s perversion. I am not down playing Sodom’s final state; I just want us to consider the “slope” that took them there. Sodom’s perversion is highlighted often as a reminder of the destruction all ungodly people will face. However, I believe this verse reveals to us their original mindset. They had plenty and yet showed no hospitality to the poor and the needy. Their city, which people traveled to for safety and refuge, was a place where safety and refuge was nowhere to be found. Secular accounts of this city make this clear. Classical Jewish texts downplay the homosexual tenancies of the Sodomites and focus more on their lack of hospitality and senseless bloodshed. Some of the examples are quite unbelievable. For example, a Sodomite would write their name on ingots of gold, give it to a beggar and then refuse to sell them any food. If the ingot had a name on it other than the purchaser, no one would sell them anything. The beggar then would die and the Sodomite would reclaim his money. Flavius Josephus and Philo of Alexandria both comment on their “Slippery Slope” which was born out of gluttony and lewdness. Sodom, at the point of their destruction, was so far gone that God took action. Chapter 19 confirms their mindset. The two angels (strangers to the Sodomites) no sooner lay their heads down at Lot’s house when they are attacked by the people of Sodom. Obviously their lifestyle of sin dominated their thinking to the point where they did not fear God (re-read Rom 3:11-18 above). Do you see the slope now?

Hospitality is very important to God. It is the duty of an Overseer in the church (1 Tim 3:2 & Titus 1:8) and it is the mark of a true Christian (Rom 12:13). It is what Scripture declares as the iniquity (the reason they are guilty) of the Sodomites resulting in their utter destruction. When we examine our lives, consider what Paul had to say about this:

Romans 13:8-10 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Jesus extended these commandments to include a stranger (The Parable of the Good Samaritan). Unloving acts must be repented of in order to escape God’s wrath. Only God can take a person with a sinful condition and keep them from sliding down the “slippery Slope” to destruction. We must be mindful of where we are in light of Romans 3:11-18 or we will suffer the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, who is your neighbor and your stranger?