Indecision Does Not Pay

How did Lot and his family react to those clear instructions? After being rebuffed by his sons-in-law, who considered the threat of destruction to be a joke, Lot kept lingering around the place. Rather than obeying immediately God’s command to flee, he delayed. But the angels did not. They had their instructions and obeyed them. “In the compassion of Jehovah upon him, the men [materialized angels] seized hold of his hand and of the hand of his wife and of the hands of his two daughters and they proceeded to bring him out and to station him outside the city.”​—Genesis 19:15, 16.

Did Lot and his family then flee to the mountainous region as instructed? Not at once. Whether he was influenced by his wife or not we do not know, but he implored Jehovah’s angel to let him seek refuge in a nearby city. This was granted and they fled to Zoar. (Genesis 19:18-22) How did Lot’s wife react to this uprooting and sudden change of home? Apparently she did not trust Jehovah’s judgment in the matter. Like her husband, she was indecisive, but with the difference that he eventually obeyed. She did not. She “began to look around from behind him [Lot], and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:26) She hesitated and lost.

Christians who are already baptized should also analyze their situation. How? By reflecting on the attitude of Lot’s wife. She lost out because she did not wholeheartedly trust in God. She did not move forward with confidence. (Luke 17:31, 32)