There were many things wrong with the city of Sodom. God said of Sodom: “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.” (Gen 18:20) So much so that He sent two of His men to destroy the city in its entirety. I begin with the city of Sodom because I just recently read a detailed examination of what truly was wrong with Sodom.
Years after Sodom’s destruction, the prophet Ezekiel, as he is showing Israel how evil they have become, uses Sodom as a comparison to their evil:
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Ezekiel 16:49
The bolded phrase hit me like a ton of bricks. Abundance of Idleness. It is a combination of two Hebrew words that mean “prosper” & “quietness” or “inactive”. Or you could say: they were really good at not doing anything. It is interesting to me that sometimes sin and wrongdoing can actually be “not doing”. A lot of Sodom’s sin and evil was rooted in twiddling their thumbs.
The reason it hit me like a ton of bricks is two-fold. First, God used the phrase to convict me of my own idleness. How much time do I spend doing nothing? Vedged out in front of a screen or simply daydreaming of nothing. Secondly, I believe this description of Sodom is a spot on description of the world around us and even this country. Did you know the average screen time in America is over 7 hours? An average day for an American consists of work, going home to eat, and then sitting in front of the television screen for hours until it’s time for bed.
What About Us?
Now this ought not to be shocking as we look out into a lost world that hates God and knows nothing of eternity. However, as we examine the modern day body of Christ I would venture to say this description is not that far off. Many Christians follow this same pattern of living as the world influences their lives much more than Jesus and His teachings.
However, the reason for this post was not for us to take a sad look at the state of our family. The reason is as follows: we are anguished souls. Seeking God and seeking change. Seeking to make God’s name holy in and through our lives and in the world around us. And as always this change begins with you and me. The first look ought to be in our own hearts. “Where is idleness in my own life?” You may ask. “Where can I start doing more?”.
Practical Steps
One thing a friend of mine has started is a form of fasting. We usually think of fasting as it applies to food but I believe, especially in our culture, you can fast from all sorts of things. In my friend’s case he decided to fast from YouTube. Not because it is bad or sinful but simply because he has such a desire to seek God and find Him in his life that cutting YouTube was a natural response from his thirsty soul. I encourage us all to take a thorough examination of our lives. Record your screen time. See what you spend time on the most. Work on cutting down the hours of idleness and replace it with time of seeking, praying, reading, or meditating on Jesus and His Word.
Action
- Praise God for using His Word to convict and cleanse us.
- Ask God to show you areas of idleness in your own life and respond immediately by cutting them out
- Thank God for loving you and taking it upon Himself to make His name Holy in your life