Friday, June 26, 2020

FMF: Compromise

So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.  Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
Genesis 13:8-9

Abram and Lot had set out on a journey together.  They had followed God together.  They had worked together.  They had prospered together.  In Genesis 13 we read that that their fortunes had grown so big the land could not support their livestock.  In Genesis 14 we read that Abram had 318 trained men.  That's quite a staff.

At first it appears that Abram and Lot let go of their relationship to seek wealth.  They already had plenty between them.  They could have cut back a little and continued to live together.

Instead they reached a compromise: you go one way, I will go the other.

In fact, Abram loved his nephew so much that he let Lot chose which way he would go, and Lot chose the way that looked like it held a more prosperous future.  Abram loved his nephew enough to let physical space come between them so they and their households could live in unity.  Sometimes unity means being separate.

Is that the best situation?  It may not be ideal, but it is better than the alternative of living disagreeably together.  I suppose that is the essence of a compromise, it is never what you would have dreamed of, but it could be worse.



This post is a prompt from Five Minute Friday and was written in approximately five minutes. For more information, visit fiveminutefriday.com.

8 comments:

  1. A good example of compromising constructively. Your FMF neighbor at #9

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  2. Great post; Abram's generosity has always been an inspiration, to give up what he loved to the advantage of whom he loved.

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  3. You found a great example of Biblical compromise, Amy! I can relate with the idea of having to hold space with a family member. Thanks for writing.

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  4. I wouldn't have thought of this. Good example of when compromise is good.

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  5. "Sometimes unity means being separate." This is very true. I am also encouraged that in the next chapter of Genesis, Abraham rescues Lot when he is taken prisoner in a war. Abraham's love for Lot is very inspiring.

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  6. This is a great example of biblical compromise. Your statement, "Sometimes unity means being separate," really resonated with me. I'm going to be thinking on this.

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  7. Amen! I love this perspective!

    Annie FMF#12

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