In the Bible, we find the familiar story of Abraham.  The story begins in a place called Ur of the Chaldees, a place that was located in what we know today as southern Iraq.  It began with a man by the name of Terah, who had three sons named Abraham, Nahor and Haran, who had a son named Lot.

Abraham and Lot move from Ur to the land of Canaan, which would later become Israel.  Through their many travels, Abraham and Lot acquire great herds of cattle, sheep and servants.  By the time they arrive back in Canaan, they had each accumulated too much to be able to ranch together, which is the situation described in Genesis Chapter 13.

Abraham makes mistakes, some bad choices, but he learns from his sin and draws nearer to the Lord in the end.  Lot, on the other hand, lives a life of grief and heartache.  He pitched his tent toward Sodom, later moved into town, became one of the town's leading citizens, enjoyed his wealth and influence, but in the end he lost his wife, committed incest with his own daughters, and fathered a nation of people who would be a thorn in the side of Israel for years to come.

Time and again, Abraham would have to get Lot out of trouble.  Lot's life was a wasted life, a sorry life.  It wasn't becasue of his upbringing.  It wasn't becasue of poverty or bad circumstances.  It wasn't because of his enviornment.  Instead, it was the choices that Lot made that led to a life of regret and shame.

Someone once said "We are the sum of our decisions".  Even not making a decision is a decision it and of itself.  We are branded by the decisions we make...we are the sum of our decisions.

Whether you are just a child still in school, or an adult wading your way through life, you are faced with your future, and the decisions you make today will have lasting effects on how that future is spent.  This is true for husbands and wives, for mothers and fathers, for sons and daughters, for couples, for families. 

The question for all of us, just as it was for Lot:  "Where are you pitching your tent today"?

Most people don't just pack up and move into Sodom and Gomorrah.  Lot didn't.  Samson didn't.  David didn't.  Ananias and Sapphira didn't.  They all just pitched thier tent in that direction and assumed they were strong enough to maintain integrity and character, thinking that flirting with sin was not so dangerous.  But, they all fell to it's wicked grasp like the weak men they really were.

See Galatians 6:3.  We don't have any strength apart from the Lord!  We are nothing without Him.  A person's real strength is found in God alone.

Have you pitched your tent with the Lord?  If you have, you are enjoying lives of worship and satisfaction, and you are finding significance in Him.

But, far too many people in the body of Christ are just like Lot, pitching their tents according to what appeals to their senses instead of bringing God into the equation.

We are all today the sum total of the decisions we made yesterday.....both good and bad.  Do you want to enjoy the blessings of the life that God has in store for you?  If so, then you need to learn to pitch your tents in the right place and settle down with the Lord.

A. W. Tozer once said:

"A whole new generation of Christians has come up believing that it is possible to accept Christ without forsaking the world".

I believe he is so right.  Christ has called us out of darkness to walk in the light. "Where are you pitching your tent today"?

To hear more, please go to:
Choices & Consequences
http://biblestudies.aroadinthewilderness.org/2009/05/03/choices--consequences----genesis-13113.aspx