And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
Lot, who went with Abram, himself possessed flocks and herds and tents, and both men had grown large in their possessions. Their herds and flocks had become so great that the grazing land could not support them together. That insufficiency produced strife between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot.
To preserve peace and honor God, Abram refused to cling to individual rights and preferences and displayed a noble, unselfish spirit. He waived his rightful claim to the whole land and was willing to make sacrifice rather than allow contention to continue. His plea that there be no strife, for they were brethren, meant brethren not only by natural relationship but as worshipers of the true God. In this he showed that the children of God throughout the world are one family.
That family must be governed by the same spirit of love and conciliation. Its members are to be kindly affectioned with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another, with uniform courtesy and willingness to do to others as they would have others do to them. Such a course would annihilate half the ills of life. They are to possess the charity that seeks not her own and looks not only on its own things but also on the things of others. The spirit of self-aggrandizement is the spirit of Satan, while the heart in which the love of Christ is cherished possesses that unselfish love.
Lot, who went with Abram, himself possessed flocks and herds and tents, and both men had grown large in their possessions. Their herds and flocks had become so great that the grazing land could not support them together. That insufficiency produced strife between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot.
To preserve peace and honor God, Abram refused to cling to individual rights and preferences and displayed a noble, unselfish spirit. He waived his rightful claim to the whole land and was willing to make sacrifice rather than allow contention to continue. His plea that there be no strife, for they were brethren, meant brethren not only by natural relationship but as worshipers of the true God. In this he showed that the children of God throughout the world are one family.
That family must be governed by the same spirit of love and conciliation. Its members are to be kindly affectioned with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another, with uniform courtesy and willingness to do to others as they would have others do to them. Such a course would annihilate half the ills of life. They are to possess the charity that seeks not her own and looks not only on its own things but also on the things of others. The spirit of self-aggrandizement is the spirit of Satan, while the heart in which the love of Christ is cherished possesses that unselfish love.