Remember Lot’s wife.
She looked back.
If she had just looked back to watch the devastation,
that would have been one thing.
Abraham watched the devastation from his home,
the fire was so great when the fire and brimstone rained down
that it could be seen for miles.
Here is what Abraham saw:
And Abraham gat up early in the morning
to the place where he stood before the Lord:
“And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah,
and toward all the land of the plain,
and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country
went up as the smoke of a furnace. Genesis 19:27-28
Jesus mentioned her. He said, Remember Lot’s wife. Luke 17:32
She looked back to her world.
Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it;
and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. Luke 17:33
In Genesis 19:16, it says Lot lingered when the angels directed him to leave.
They even had to grab his hand to lead him out.
It is hard to understand the difference,
why was it okay for Lot to linger and not okay for her to look back?
We know God sees hearts.
This might give some insight:
The Parable of the Two Sons
But what think ye?
A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said,
Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
And he came to the second, and said likewise.
And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Whether of them twain did the will of his father?
They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them,
Verily I say unto you,
That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness,
and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him:
and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward,
that ye might believe him. Matthew 21:28-32
Lot was the son who said no, but did it
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. 1 John 2:15
We have this constant war between the natural and the spiritual,
living in what we see, yet aiming to please the Lord
by choosing the spiritual riches.
God sees our hearts and our desires
and whether or not we have our priorities in order.
Are we perfect in our own right? Not by a long shot.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33