Backsliding

Genesis 13. After Abram's carnal stint down in Egypt (12:10-20), he returns to Bethel where his altar was. Note vs.1 closely. "Abram went up from Egypt..." Remember, Egypt always represents the world. And Scripture always states that God's children "go down into Egypt" or "up from Egypt". And when you go down into Egypt (world) you can't take your altar with you. The practical lesson here is simple: Never abandon your altar. Stay in fellowship with God no matter what the circumstances may be. If you have disobeyed God and He is disciplining you, go back to the place where you left Him and make things right.
After Abram makes it right with the Lord, his nephew Lot abandoned his altar as well. Strife and conflict arose between Lot's herdsmen and the herdsmen of Abram. Abram graciously told Lot to choose any part of the land to take and graze his animals. As you know, this is where Lot foolishly chose the plain of Jordan that went down near Sodom and Gomorrah. Here we see the backsliding of Lot. It occurs in 3 steps; three steps that took him away from God (and us too).
1. Step One: "He lifted his eyes as saw...." v.10
The first step of sin is the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes (1 John 2:16). "Eve saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes..." (Gen.3:6). Satan tempts us through the "eye gate".
2. Step Two: "Then Lot chose..." v.11
Sin is always a choice. We can't use Flip Wilson's line "the devil made me do it." Sin is a choice. Eve "took of its fruit and ate..." (Gen.3:6). And do understand, that every choice has a consequence. As Adrian Rogers used to say, "you can chose your choices, but you can't choose your consequences."
3. Step Three: "Lot dwelt...(and) pitched his tent even as far as Sodom" v.12
At first Lot just moved in the vicinity of sin (Sodom). But when it was all said and done, he moved within the city limits and pitched his tent there. Later, as we'll see in chapter 19, all of this cost Lot his family.
Lesson: Lot had left his altar and moved into sin. You can't take the altar with you into sin. Lot left God behind and it destroyed his home. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen homes destroyed, families broken, lives destroyed because of this very same thing: Some Christian, abandoning God, and destroying his or her home. What a tragedy. Again, you can choose your choices, but you can't choose your consequences. The neon signs of this world are flashy, catchy and alluring. But don't buy into the devil's lie. Sodom looks good on the outside, but it's nothing but heartache and destruction on the inside. Stay close to God. Stay near your altar. You'll be eternally glad you did!