A Woman Seduced by the Good Life

A free verse poem based on Genesis 19:12-26

Her role in history is summed up by 12 Old Testament words:

"But Lot's wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt."

Just 12 words.

One sentence.

A whole life!

In the New Testament Jesus summed her up too

with the second shortest verse in the Bible:

"Remember Lot's wife." (Luke 17:32)

Just three words.

Why should we "remember Lot's wife?"

Why not "remember Sarah."

or "remember Esther"

or "remember Deborah"

Jesus said, "remember Lot's wife."

For what did Jesus want us to remember her?

What kind of lady was she?

We do not even know her name.

Just "Lot's wife."

Most woman don't like to be known as a "wife."

They'd rather be known as themselves...

Not as a tagalong, or Tonto

So we're seeing the disappearance of "Mrs."

And "First lady" or "Pastor's wife."

Women prefer being a whole person,

not as a half-couple.

I don't know how Lot's wife would feel about this.

It would be better if we knew her name.

We could say, "Remember Edith"

or "Remember Lois"

or Remember Amber."

Instead, all we have is "Lot's wife."

Then again,

Maybe that's exactly what she was.

"A wife."

Maybe she was one of those women

whose only goal in life

is to be a wife and mother.

If so, she failed at both.

She was a poor wife,

and a worse mother.

How did her life turn out so badly?

It was certainly not her intention.

Can you imagine a wife and mother

wanting to destroy her family

and leave behind a bad example for all to remember.

Almost 40 centuries later?

Certainly she planned for better.

Like all wives, she must have started out

with better hopes.

To really make something out of her husband,

so overshadowed by his Uncle Abraham.

Perhaps she saw potential there.

And, hoped to help him succeed.

And what of her daughters.

What new mother doesn't

want the best for her daughters?

To get the opportunities she never had.

To make something of themselves.

To go on and get their education,

succeed!

Certainly Lot's wife must have hoped for these things.

But she was a failure as wife and mother.

And she is remembered only as a failure.

Jesus even reminds us to remember her failure.

How did this happen?

What ruined her example?

A simple family decision.

And, what was that important decision?

Was it which God to serve?

Which doctrine to believe?

Some great theological issue?

What momentous decision destroyed this woman's witness?

The decision about where to live.

A simple family decision.

We all make them:

Should we live in the country or the city?

Should we stay in this apartment, or buy a house?

Should we buy a house or build our own?

Should we fix up an old house or build a new one?

Should we move nearer our work or stay here?

Should we just stay here and add on to this house?

Simple decisions.

Family decisions.

Ordinary decisions.

But where Lot and his wife went wrong.

Was in making a simple family decision wrongly.

They ignored