No turning back

I don’t pretend to be a Bible scholar, but I had a revelation recently.

Here’s the scene. Two angels turned up in Sodom, and Lot invites them to stay with him. 

During the night, a load of men from the town come to the house demanding sex with the visitors, but their rapacious advances are thwarted and Lot and his family are allowed to flee the city. 

In fact, they left hand in hand with the heavenly guests.

The angels then warn the family to flee without looking back, but wifey can’t resist and becomes a salty pillar.

I must admit, I’ve always found this a bit hard to accept. In the grand scheme of things, Lot’s wife glancing over her shoulder doesn’t seem like a massive crime.

If I had been fleeing something awful, I might have been tempted to see what was going on behind me. So why the harsh punishment?

Well, first, she had specifically been told by the angels – God’s messengers – not to look back. Second, looking back can be pretty dangerous if you’re in the process of fleeing. If you don’t keep your eyes on where you’re going, you are liable to fall.

Ultimately, though, I think looking back symbolised a form of ‘backsliding’. She couldn’t completely cut herself off from her old life. Perhaps looking back might have led to turning back. Or maybe she was thinking about the possessions she’d had to leave behind. It seems you can take a girl out of Sodom, but you can’t take Sodom out of the girl.

It’s worth remembering that looking back not only brought Lot’s wife to a sticky (or salty) end, it had long-term repercussions. In her absence, her two daughters got their dad drunk and slept with him. Both conceived and gave birth to sons whose descendents were the Moabites and Ammonites – who were constantly at war with the Israelites.

Thankfully, I’ve never been turned into a pillar made from any kind of condiment. But I’ve certainly been guilty of looking over my shoulder and finding myself getting sucked back into circumstances and thought patterns God has already delivered me from.

Knowing that He’s done everything to save us from danger, sin, our pasts, broken relationships and so on, why do we look back? After all, Lot’s family aren’t the only ones to have been saved from a bath of burning sulphur.

So why do we look for ways to say connected with the very things God has delivered us from?

Rather than thinking about the past, we should be grateful for our salvation and eagerly look forward to the future and to eternity with our heavenly father.

We all stumble at times, but keeping our eyes on the path ahead will help to prevent any major painful and dangerous falls.  

This still leaves the question of why Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt, of all things. I’m sure there are plenty of theological explanations, but I’m going to offer my own (probably flawed) theories.

Pillars

Pillars were used in the Old Testament as a marker, or a “witness”. Jacob set up various stone pillars to mark important venues, and God himself appeared as a pillar of cloud and fire to lead the Israelites.

Pillars carried esteem and were largely depicted positively in biblical terms. Psalm 114:12 says that “our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace”. But in this instance, it seems the pillar in this case was designed to act as a warning to anyone who saw it (including Lot and his family) that they were to take God at his word.

Salt

Salt was a coveted commodity in biblical times for preservation purposes and to improve the taste of food. It was used to purify offerings to God and was celebrated for its healing properties. The Bible tells us to season our conversation with salt, and in Mark 9:50, Jesus says: “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other”.

But salt was also used in the Bible as a means of destruction and cleansing. In Judges 9:45, Abimelek destroyed Shechem and scattered salt over it. This symbolised both destruction and a completely fresh start. Becoming a pillar of salt fits with this symbolism, but unfortunately Lot’s wife had to lose her life to become a lasting representation of this.

Read more from Joy in the next issue of Liberti magazine.

My guilty secret

I have a slight obsession with anything crime-related. Cop shows, crime novels, documentaries about serial killers… I even like those terrible American police chase programmes.

There’s something about good triumphing over evil and the exposure of the criminal mind that fascinates me.

So when I stumbled across a free iPhone app called ‘Crime City’ (a real steal!), my fingers started twitching with anticipation. Unfortunately, this strategy game takes the exact opposite approach: it’s all about building up your own Mafia empire through extortion, theft and even assassination. The aim is to collect as much money as you can in order to acquire more weapons, build up your ‘hood’ and attack rival Mafiosi.

You may question how I can play this game as a Christian. But first of all, it is just that: a game. I’m not about to put out a hit on someone for robbing my launderette. Furthermore, there are some hidden biblical principles to pick out (if you look closely enough!).

Firstly, it’s teaching me the gift of patience; something I’m not known for. Each task requires a certain ‘cost’: either to energy levels, stamina or your stash. If you don’t have the necessary items, you simply can’t move onto the next task. Sometimes it can take days and even weeks to get the job done. We often have to wait for things in real life, and practising patience shows that we trust God’s timing, omnipotence and love (2 Corinthians 6:6).

Secondly, it proves that you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7-8). Building defensive buildings and upgrading cash-generating establishments can seem fruitless, but this type of investment often proves crucial further down the line. This is often the case in life – we think a job/degree/relationship has been a complete waste of time, only to find it has laid the groundwork for something wonderful a few years later.

Thirdly, it has shown me the importance of equipping myself for battle. Okay, so I’m not sure we need to be carrying assault rifles or riot shields around with us, but the Bible tells us to “put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11). This includes: the belt of truth; the breastplate of righteousness; the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; and the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God). These ‘weapons’ strengthen us and protect us from adversity.

Fourthly, it demonstrates that certain tasks/challenges need to be completed before we can move onto the next. In the game this might mean robbing a bank or planting a tracking device, but in our lives it could mean forgiving someone who has offended us; learning from a mistake we keep making; disciplining ourselves to read the Bible when we don’t feel like it; or sharing our faith with someone. There are things in each of our lives that hold us back and prevent us from reaching the next level.

Finally, it reminds us to take what is rightfully ours. In the game you periodically collect money from the businesses you’ve set up – if you don’t, the cash stops building up and rivals can steal it. The Bible says God has given us “everything we need to live a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3), so if there’s something missing, it’s probably because we haven’t tapped into it yet. If you don’t use it, you may lose it!

OK, so I’m going to stop flogging this dead horse now (that’s not part of the game!) as it would be just as easy to turn the analogy round to show how Crime City promotes greed, violence and many other Mafia malignancies. Just remember, this kind of game can be a fun way to spend an hour or two but crime really doesn’t pay!

Read more from Joy in the upcoming issue of Liberti.