It’s an oddity of the human condition that what divides us often isn’t what we lack; it’s the surplus that we can’t manage. We’ve all heard (or participated in) stories of families fractured over an estate with more than enough to go around. It’s the same in church life, and, quite frankly, in our broader political landscape.
Collectively, Abram and his nephew Lot had, quite frankly, so much stuff they might have been selected for TLC’s Hoarding: Buried Alive. As a result, the biblical narrator puts it, “the land couldn’t support both of them” (13:6). After all, extra cars need extra garages, extra houses need extra heating fuel, and extra cattle need extra water. So it’s no surprise to read that “conflicts broke out” among their herders.
Notice how Abram—the one who was “very rich”—responds to those conflicts. Notice how he treats Lot, who “also had flocks and herds” but who was the younger and arguably less powerful of the two. Does Abram assert his own divine privilege? Does he rally his “people” to oppose the “threat” that Lot’s assets pose? Not exactly. He recognizes the reality that the land can’t support them both and seeks peace by offering Lot dibs on his own plot.
It’s an odd leadership approach, by most conventional standards. It’s also rather odd diplomacy—for the powerful one to assert the privilege of the weaker one. But here we find, I think, a glimpse of gospel that can change our relationships, our families, our church, our world. If only we would give it a try.
- Where do you see yourself in this story?
- When has God blessed you for giving up your own rights, resources, or worldview?
- What other details did you notice in today’s reading?
Prayer: Dear God, sometimes our stuff complicates our relationship with you and with each other. Show us the way of Abram—the way of Jesus—that values people more than things. Amen.
Breath Prayer: The whole land // before you.
