If I were to ask you what should be your greatest priority on the following list, what would you say?

A. Career

B. Family

C. Marriage

D. Church

This is an actual question I was asked once in a church small group. Surprisingly, the group facilitator said he thought the correct answer was A! Of course, jobs are important. Everything on that list is important. It’s just that when we put career ahead of relationships, our lives get knocked out of balance, and we are on dangerous ground.

Abram and Lot were herdsmen, but God had blessed them so incredibly that the land where they lived in ancient Canaan could no longer sustain them both. Too many sheep, not enough grass. Seeing the problem, they agreed to separate (see Genesis 13). But I think Abram and Lot lost more than they gained in the deal. And I believe we can learn quite a bit by looking at the consequences of their actions:

Loss of Family: Here’s the obvious and easy one. By choosing to continue increasing their flocks, instead of being content with God’s already abundant blessings, they lost each other. In today’s world, this is seen all the time when a parent accepts a big promotion at work but sacrifices time at home for time at the office. This is living to work, rather than working to live. Of course, there are times when God promotes us, but He never wants us to make our families less important than our occupations.

Moral Compromises: The Bibles tells us, “Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom” (Genesis 13:12). Now, there’s no indication that Lot participated in the sins of Sodom, but it’s amazing what a person will tolerate when they’re afraid to lose something they’ve poured their time and energy into. When we care more about our careers than who we are in relationship with God, we may find ourselves in compromising situations. Luke 12:34 says, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Dullness of Faith: God dispatched two angels to Sodom, and they led Lot and his family out before fire and sulfur rained down upon the city. Lot’s wife, however, had a divided heart. She couldn’t see God’s goodness in the rescue; she disobeyed and looked back on Sodom, the city she considered home. As a result, she was turned into a pillar of salt (see Genesis 19:15-26).

An obsession to obtain success and money through our careers can make our hearts divided, too. The New Testament warns, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9).

God’s Word gives us the answer to the question we started with. It says this about our priorities: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). And when it comes to our jobs, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).

Additional Resources

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