TAKE CARE OF YOUR SOUL
2 Peter 2:6-8 NKJV
6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—
Chapter Two is a heavy-duty chapter. This is not the one you read to your kids at bedtime. Peter is laying out the destruction that is coming to the false teachers and the ones who follow their destructive ways. But in our verses for today, we get a glimpse of what we can do to take care of our souls, our inner lives.
Peter is referencing Sodom and Gomorrah, the two cities that were judged and destroyed in the book of Genesis. The evil in these cities was so profound God had to do something drastic. But God delivered Lot, who was said to be a righteous man.
Lot had left his uncle Abraham and moved to Sodom with his family. But even though Sodom was a beautiful place, it proved to be a bad move for Lot. Lot moved into the city and tormented his righteous soul. I am sure he had no intention of tormenting his soul, but his environment took a toll on him.
What Lot heard and saw of the evil around him got to him. Seeing and hearing their lawless actions had a negative effect on Lot. And it was not just a one-off exposure to evil. It was day to day. So every day, Lot, who had been taught the right ways of God by Abraham, was surrounded by bad stuff. He was seeing and hearing it, and it hurt him.
God delivered Lot out of Sodom before it was destroyed, but he did not get out unscathed. Lot lost his wife in the process and had some high level family dysfunction that's pretty appalling even by today's standards. What would have happened if Lot had stayed with Abraham? One thing for sure, he would not have tormented his soul.
APPLICATION
Over the years, there has been a raging debate as to the effect of media on our souls. Does consuming media impact our thinking and inner life? I am hoping by now you have answered that question. There is no debate from a scriptural standpoint. We know that what we see and hear impacts us.
Constantly bombarded by the negative content on the internet will take a toll on our souls. Going to the dark side of the internet and media content will do damage. What we see and hear will have an impact. We know that if we hear good messages and read Scripture, it lifts and helps us. Faith comes by what we hear. But fear can also come by what we hear and see.
To take care of your soul, be aware of your input, what you see and hear. Obviously, we can't avoid all the negatives, but it's what we constantly feed on that has the greatest impact. We will have the biggest say as to the health of our inner life. Feed your soul good stuff; choose to take care of your soul.