He chose the best and rose to become a leader in the city. The Bible calls him righteous, but he was not rich toward God. Though his soul was vexed, he allowed his heart to indulge in creature comforts—a close association that proved corrosive to his soul.
God, who does not allow evil to prosper without restraint, overthrew the city he lived in. And with it, the man lost everything he had valued and built for himself. Bereft of all his possessions, his influence, and even his wife—and fearful for his life—he ended up living in a cave, broken and addicted to alcohol.
Now, we might pause and ask, “Was he truly an alcoholic?” Perhaps, perhaps not. Yet the fact that his daughters were able to make him mindlessly drunk on two consecutive nights speaks volumes about the unspoken condition of his heart and life. Having once taken advantage of his uncle Abraham by choosing the best part of the land, Lot now lives in a cave of ignominy and loss—far removed from the image of a righteous man that Scripture attributes to him (2 Peter 2:7).
Such is the state of a man who treats sin as a sliding scale—asking how close to the edge is safe, rather than rescuing himself and others, hating even the garment stained by the flesh (Jude 1:23).