February 6 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

The influence of those who have taught us in our youth is very deep. I can still hear the voice of one of my teachers: "Abram was old and Lot was young. Lot should have asked Abram to choose first. But Lot was greedy and Abram was modest." Thus she taught us not to be the first to take a cookie from the tray.

It was sweet of her and good for us, perhaps. But her story did not get to the level of the Bible.

We always compare people with people. It's the only level we know. That's how we decide whether a person is good or evil, selfish or generous, rich or poor. But this game can be played by any moralist.

The Bible always places us in our primary relationship—to God. The weight of our deeds and decisions is measured against that awe-inspiring backdrop—God! Once we have learned something of the biblical measuring lines, we become increasingly hesitant to use our own.

Actually, Lot does not have a bad name in the Bible. He is called "that righteous man" who was "tormented in his righteous soul" when he saw the sins of Sodom (2 Pet. 2:8). But in this, his crucial hour, Lot did not live with God. His desire for the Jordan Valley overruled all other considerations.

Compared with other people, Lot did all right. He had what is called the chance of a lifetime. Some people even have a philosophy about this kind of thing. They say that opportunity knocks only once, and if you grab your chance at that moment, everyone will agree that you did the right thing. That's how so many people have landed just where they are. Their eyes were blinded by the Jordan Valley or some other piece of real estate. Now we can only pray that God will keep them awake at night, tossing and turning, so that they pull up stakes before Sodom starts burning.

REFLECTIONS

Confess to God whatever may tempt you to think first about your own needs and forget your relationship with God.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.