Lights in the Rearview
- Cassidy Magnon
- Feb 12
- 3 min read
When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” -Genesis 19:17
If you ever listened to country music, they often use the phrase, "I see the tail lights in the rear view." The phrase is more often used in reference to a break-up or something that the singer has lost, but overall it means there was a change.
In some way, shape, or form, that's person's life was changed by some event.
Now, let's think of Lot and his wife when God told them to leave Sodom from Genesis 19.
Lot had moved his family to a Gentile land. A land where sin was prevalent, and moreover "flourished".
Sin was so common that it became a "norm" in their society. As seen in Genesis 19, verse 5. That "norm" resulted in his family becoming comfortable in the thought patterns of sin.
When the Angels told Lot to leave Sodom with his family, they were told not to look back. In the end, Lot's wife turned to look back at the home and life she once lived, and sadly, she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26).
When we become Christians and accept the gift that God has given us, we are changed. The life that we once lived is no longer the life that we will continue to live, but the draw to continue in our same old habits is still there.
The draw of reminiscing on the "good old days" lingers in our minds.
Why go back?
Well, there could be several different reasons, but let me tell you what happens every time you go down memory lane.
When you look back at your old life, you may begin to miss parts of it that you thought were fun. Maybe you feel like you gave up something you enjoyed?
When we look back, we allow ourselves to make excuses for our old life (and sin) and allow parts of it to creep back in. We open the door for the Devil's lies, "Oh, it wasn't really that bad." "You can still do ____ and it not become sin."
Why even open that door?
Going back down memory lane is like looking in the rear view of your car. When the other car passes you, and you look in the rear view, the glare of the bright red lights block your view of the car itself.
When we look back on our past, the good/enjoyable memories block the bad ones and the ones that cause you to stumble.
That's why God told Lot's wife to not look back. When she looked back, she was remembering her old life and missed the good memories she had there. She missed the ease and comfort of her old life, and because of that, it cause her to sin.
When you look back, there's a large chance that you will stumble and fall back into sin. That's why Scripture says to keep your eyes on Him.
Matthew 14: 22-33, as long as Peter had his eyes on Jesus he did not fall, but when he began focusing on what was around him, he began to sink.
Hebrews 12: 2, says to keep our eyes (focus) on Jesus.
Keep your focus on God and don't turn back! There are better things ahead of you, so don't allow the good memories of your past to blur the sins that separated you from God.
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