May you all have peace!
May I comment on the 'righteousness' of Lot, please? Thank you. In fact, let me comment on 'righteousness' in general.
Noah was found drunk... and his sons saw his nakedness... and yet... he was a 'righteous' man.
Abraham gave his wife to another man to save his tribe... and took another woman and bore a child... and yet... he was a 'righteous' man.
Moses committed murder... and failed to glorify my Father in heat of anger and frustration... and yet... he was a 'righteous' man.
Samson's lust for a woman resulted in the breaking of his Nazirite vow...
Barak failed to carry out a directive and lost the battle to a woman...
David connived, coveted, set up for murder, condoned the murder of, committed adultery with and TOOK the wife of another man...
and yet... he was a 'righteous' man...
Dear ones, some of you have been misled to understand just what 'righteousness' is in the eyes of my Father. Righteousness is not perfection in the physical flesh. The physical flesh was SOLD... into sin. Righteousness has to do with a HEART condition... whether one WANTS to do a wrong deed, whether one has wicked IN HIS HEART... and whether when a wrong act is REVEALED to such one, such one attempts to hide, rationalize and justify... use DECEIT... or acknowledges the error. Doesn't even mean one necessarily STOPS, but acknowledges. Rather than 'raising himself up' and 'exalting himself', such one LOWERS himself... in meekness and humility... before God.
My Father does not examine the deeds of the flesh; it is the deeds of the HEART that are under consideration. For as Paul(?), sometimes what we WANT to do that is right, we DON'T do, but instead we do what we KNOW is wrong. That is the WEAKNESS of the flesh... and why we NEED a ransom.
If all of us... and all of them... could have controlled every aspect of the flesh, from jealousy and anger, to fornication and drunkeness... then what need is there of a saviour? What need is there of redemption? Heck, save yourself.
BUT... for those of my brothers before me... and I myself... we KNOW that we are sinners, some of us among the FOREMOST... and that is why we have sold ourselves to the One that BOUGHT us... with his blood. By LISTENING to him and telling others about the free GIFT of life (it is a gift, dear ones, because it is due to UNDESERVED KINDNESS; had we all been able to conquer our flesh entirely, such kindness would then be DESERVED), such demonstration of love can be among that which 'covers a MULTITUDE of transgressions.'
In truth, it actually only takes one person to commit incest, because for all intents and purposes... Lot was raped. Yes, it was rape, because he didn't CONSENT to it. We don't even know if he protested; the account doesn't say. We know he was VERY drunk. And at night, it doesn't take much to get a VERY drunk man... well, off. All it takes is a 'night' emission for impregnation, yes? And there are even men TODAY... and woman... who in a drunken stupor go home and sleep with people and don't even remember the event when they wake up: "What did we DO last night?"
We are all adults here, for the most part, and we know this to be true. It CAN occur that someone can have sex with someone else, without consenting to it forthrightly, or even remembering it.
Lot was considered a 'righteous' man BECAUSE... rather than have his guests subjected to something they didn't WANT... which would be rape as well as sodomy, he offered his daughters. This, to save both his guests... AND the souls of the men clamoring for them. He was willing to GIVE his daughters, which was his RIGHT to do under the 'law' they lived by at that time (and trust me, the girls would NOT have disobeyed...) in order to save the SOULS of these men. But... they did not 'want' it.
For those who like to take certain accounts and find the 'unrighteousness' in the acts of others, might I ask you why? Is that not tantamount to the hypocritical judging of the WTBTS... accusing people of unrighteousness and wickedness, when you have but one part of the 'picture'? Indeed, are we not ALL sinners? Have we not ALL done things of which we are ashamed and might not ever confess here and HOPE TO GOD nobody sees fit to write it down? And yet, could we not have committed such acts and STILL be basically good people: love God, love our neighbors... even love our enemies?
If we don't want to be judged based on OUR errors... why in the world would we look back at someone else and point fingers at theirs, thinking we have all of the facts, when actually we have only that which was deemed pertinent by the writer? An examination of our hearts should follow the question of WHY we need to do this. Part of it is due to our 'training' from the 'borg. Indeed, rather than look at ANY in love, they spend countless hours trying to find fault in everyone but themselves. How is that like 'christ'?
There is only ONE that is without sin, dear ones. One. The rest of us are all WITH sin. Every last one of us. But my Father does not 'judge' us based on that if we are 'covered'. And the One who 'covers' us taught us to 'see' people in a better 'light', did he not? With the exception of those who wickedly lie to others to mislead them AWAY from life, my Lord condemned NO ONE. And he judged NO ONE.
I understand that the institution of 'christianity' is one of finger pointing and looky-looing and say, "Whoo-wee, did you see what HE (or SHE) did?" But TRUE christianity is not like that. TRUE christianity says, "Well, he or she must have their reasons, unbeknownst to ME, and while I may not AGREE with the situation, I have no 'room' in which to throw stones. Unless I have all of the facts... or unless I am TOLD by the spirit to address the 'error'... it is really none of my concern. My Father will deal with it... either directly or by means of the systems He has in place... either now... or later."
If such error involves personal harm to me or mine, directly or indirectly, I have every right to seek out the assistance of this 'system' that is available to me. But that is also my CHOICE. But I don't have the right to take information regarding others... and come to my own conclusion of righteousness, unrighteousness... or judgment. That is not 'mine' to do.
So, I ask you... give Lot the same consideration as you would want. He paid for his error in that his progeny was ceased. That was the 'price'; it was paid. As for whether his acts with his daughters establishes or disestablishes his 'righteousness'... it is not for any of us to say. For we are not the determiners of who is... and is not... 'righteous'.
Let 'anger' alone, dear ones... for this is NO benefit in it. 'Righteous indignation... is NOT anger, for it is justified. Anger... is not. Righteous indignation occurs when you see or hear of an INJUSTICE being committed, including a heinous crime. It has purpose and direction... and is controlled. Anger, however, is simply the tendency to HATE... with unsubstantiated rationalization.
Without trying to sound 'righteous' myself, for please know that I ask you... in TRUE love... to check your hearts.
I bid you all peace... and I remain...
Your servant and a slave of Christ,
SJ
