10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. Genesis 10-13
By that time, everyone had known about the true Sin Cities, Sodom and Gomorrah. It had already escalated to “flood the earth” proportions. But the lands looked good to Lot. He had to know about those two cities.
Lot chose poorly.
Or perhaps he thought he chose wisely. Perhaps he would be satisfying his carnal nature and could live the Sodom lifestyle. After all, Abram gave him a choice. Why wouldn’t he want to feed his desires? He obviously wasn’t thinking about his family or wealth. Or maybe he thought his wealth made him indestructible.
In any event, Lot chose a land that would give him great sorry and pain in the end. In fact, we can’t think of the name Lot without associating it with a negative thought.
Any point along his journey he could have gone a different direction. He was a powerful man among his people, and they would have followed him wherever he thought they should go.
Lot chose poorly, and never considered changing courses.
Fortunately we can learn from Lot’s mistakes. We can changes directions when we know we are going astray, but do we? The longer we go astray, the further off course we get until we are not even close to our destination.
But it also takes humility to admit you’re wrong.
We certainly need discernment in the decisions we make throughout the day. Granted, not every decision is like Lot’s, but we still need wisdom from above.