When Abraham left his country, his kindred, and his father’s house to go to the land that was destined by God to belong to his offspring, he took with him his brother’s son, Lot.  God richly blessed both of them with much livestock.  However, a problem arose after they returned to Bethel after a short, but disastrous, stay in Egypt.  The land would not support all of their flocks and herds; so, strife arose among their herdsmen (Genesis 13:8).

Abraham knew that strife between them would not be good, seeing that they were brethren, so he offered Lot the choice of land in which he wanted to settle.  Lot made a worldly choice.

Genesis 13:10-11 (ESV)
¹⁰  And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹  So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.

Lot was not worried about the inhabitants in the land or if it was a location where he could best serve the Lord but, instead, was only considering the beauty of the land and its potential to be very fruitful.  As the record says, “Lot chose for himself…”

This is the essence of making worldly decisions.  They are selfish decisions that center around personal prosperity and comfort without consideration of any spiritual ramifications.  Let’s be honest.  We all have made worldly decisions.  What we should not do is make decisions without considering how it impacts us spiritually.

When we make decisions based on material gain and do not think of God’s will, we are showing ourselves to be carnal-minded.  As humans beings, there are two paths for us to follow—we can either follow the Spirit or the flesh.  Paul elaborates on this.

Romans 8:5-8 (ESV)
⁵  For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. ⁸  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

To set your mind on the things of the flesh is to make the decision to do what you want to do, choosing to please yourself by following the desires of the flesh.  To set your mind on the things of the Spirit is to follow the instructions of the Spirit found in the Bible, choosing to please God.  The decision is not a difficult one.  Paul put it in perspective when he wrote that to choose the flesh results in death, but to choose the Spirit results in life and peace.  The decision only becomes difficult when we fail to set our minds on the things above (Colossians 3:1-2).

While we all make worldly decisions once in while, is doing so the pattern of your life?  You must choose to make decisions based on pleasing God or based on the love of this world.   The decision is 100% up to you.  What will you decide?

As you wind down for the night, think about these things