01(Gen 19,01-16) Distress Signals-Playing in Quicksand
Jack Pickett and his friend Fred Stahl, both college students, decided to spend the day looking for parasitic plants in the swampland south of Florida's Lake Okeechobee. Pickett was in the lead walking along the sandy bank of a small stream when suddenly his feet disappeared into the sand. "It's soft here! Stay back!" he warned his friend. The ground seemed to swallow him up and he was quickly chest deep in thick muck. The sand pinned his arms to his body as he struggled to release the heavy pack on his back that was dragging him down. "It's quicksand!" he shouted, "Help me!" Desperate to assist his friend, but fearing getting trapped himself, Stahl searched for a tree branch to extend his reach. Finding one, he held it out. Pickett couldn't free his hands to grab the limb and sank deeper and deeper into the sand until he simply disappeared. The above is not a scene from a TV drama or action film. This was a real incident that occurred in 1964.
Quicksand is that substance that creeps up on you and entraps you before you know it. It appears innocent enough, but as with everything we have discussed in this series, the danger lies beneath the surface. I hope you are starting to get it. The great danger of the serpent was not the words he said, but what he did not say; the danger that lay beneath his cunning words. The danger for Cain was not his surface anger, but the level of that anger that only God could see underneath that would lead him to kill his own brother. The Bible sends out distress signals for your family and for your life to warn of grave danger not readily apparent.
The Bible says flee immorality. It does not say stick around and flirt with it, just don’t get too close. It does not say use your wisdom to know when to stop – it says to flee from it. That is a distress signal to warn you that there is a danger lurking underneath the immorality that you are toying with.
The Bible sends out a distress signal to flee the very appearance of evil. It doesn’t say that it’s OK if its really not that bad and only the church prudes think its evil. It does not say as long as your intentions are noble then its ok. It says to flee from those things that APPEAR evil because that appearance is a distress signal to your spirit that a grave danger is lying in wait for you.
Lot had somehow ignored all those signals present in his spirit as he settled into the lifestyle of Sodom. He was not a naïve fool who did not know what was going on around him; the Bible says he was a righteous man who was tormented every day.
Lot was not an evil man. He was not among those who were sodomites (from Sodom). Peter writes that he was a righteous man. But that was not enough. It is never enough, though many use their personal righteousness as an excuse for their lack of involvement in the lifestyle they are living.
NKJ 2 Peter 2:7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) –
So why didn’t Lot gather his family and move out? Why did he stay there, knowing it was not right?
Why do so many Christians accept the conditions their family lives in?
§ Their children go with the wrong group of “friends”, and they allow them.
§ Their spouse stays out night after night and they accept that behavior.
§ Their boss sexually harasses them and they say nothing.
§ They subscribe to cable or satellite packages with filthy channels and they pretend their family won’t be affected.
§ They go to filthy or violent movies and assume neither they nor will their date be affected.
§ They hope their kids aren’t involved sexually but never say anything to them about it.
Here’s the danger: when Lot realized he needed to change his lifestyle and follow God once again, it was too late for much of his family. His sons-in-law thought he was joking. His daughters had to be dragged out of that way of life, and his own wife chose Sodom over their future.
Lessons to learn to avoid the quicksand:
1. It is not enough to be upset about sin if the only response is apathy. What is needed is action.
2. Understand that your tolerance of sin signals acceptance to those you influence.
3. You must flee from danger, not settle for a little of that danger.
Help for those who realize they have failed:
1. It is never too late to start pursuing a godly lifestyle for yourself and your family.
2. Admit your mistakes to your children. Let them know of your inadequacies, that you did not do everything correctly.
When you get caught in quicksand, a few tips are important:
1. shed any unnecessary weight. The more weight the more you sink.
2. most often you will touch a solid bottom, which gives you the leverage to get out.