Helping Others More Than Yourself

 8So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers. 9Is not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”  10And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11So Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan for himself and set out toward the east. And Abram and Lot parted company.

12Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 13But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.

Thoughts: Hospitality means caring for others even if it means an inconvenience to yourself.  Lot was Abram's nephew.  Lot and Abraham loved each other and supported each other.  But God had blessed them so much that their flocks were having a hard time living off the same land.  Their workers were fussing with each other and it was getting worse.  
   So Abram, though older and more senior and though he was the main leader of the clan, gave Lot first choice of where he wanted to go.  Lot chose the fertile plains of Sodom.  Soon those plains would be destroyed by an eruption and Lot would lose most of what he had.  That is a separate story.  Yet, how it fits in, is an example of God taking care of those who give sacrificially for others.  Abram continued to be blessed.   
    Genesis 14 (that I will not reiterate here) tells the story of Abram rescuing Lot who was kidnapped as booty in a battle.  Again, he sacrificed himself to bless a relative.  He even risked his own family, workers, and possessions.  But God blessed such a sacrifice- even in this life.  
     Hospitality incurs sacrifice.  It is letting others have the first choice- even if you deserve it.  It is risking yourself so another could prosper.  I have seen mothers do this for their children.  I will not forget meeting a mother in South Sudan who was so weak she could not stand.  She was starving to death.  I asked the elders about her and they said she had given her meager food to her children (of course we fed her).  Sacrificing for younger relatives to succeed is a common and good thing in life.  It doesn't always work out- but we are called to do our part.  How can you sacrifice for another in the name of God today? 

Prayer: Lord, all that I have is yours.  I pray for grace to be generous and to hold onto things lightly.