And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east.
Genesis 13:10-11b English Standard Version
When Abram's nephew was instructed to choose a piece of land to own, that's exactly what he did--he chose the best land. In his eagerness he forgot to factor in more important things, like the context of the land--his neighbors, for example. Yes, the land was amazingly lush, but his neighbors were sexed-obsessed creeps. He forgot to check into that before he settled down and raised a family.
I've never bought land, but I feel like I've had a case of Lot-itus in many areas of my life, including making friendships. A person upon first acquaintance is often much more polite, level-headed and likable than he ever is at any other point in his life, except perhaps at his work place. But once you get to know a person, those appearances can take a radical turn. This radical turn is not a bad thing--you want to get to know better every person with whom you are aspiring friendship. But a close friend is never distantly polite.
In my experience I tend to always take people at face value, assuming that they are as open and natural with me upon first acquaintance as if they are my closest friend already. And as I get to know them better, I resent how they "change" on me, when in fact they aren't changing at all--I'm merely getting to see them truer and truer to their real form.
Once I realized this, I wised up and quit resenting my new friends. Instead, now that I better understand the ritual of the transformation from polite acquaintance to close friend, I am now much happier.
An unusual lesson to learn from Lot, I suppose, but there you have it.
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