Why is Mom Being So Salty? What’s Really Going on in Sodom and Gomorrah?

By Spencer Demetros

I always had a hard time with the Bible’s story of Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s the one in which God wiped out both of these corrupt and morally bankrupt cities, along with virtually all signs of human life living there. But that wasn’t the part that troubled me. It was the Lord’s harsh treatment of the wife of Abraham’s nephew, Lot, that truly bothered me. She made the fatal mistake (and I mean, literally, fatal!) of disobeying God’s messengers who directed that, while she and the rest of Lot’s family were fleeing their home city of Sodom, they must not “look back” as Sodom and Gomorrah were being decimated. Because she did, she was turned into a pillar of salt.

Whenever I read this story, I couldn’t help but think: “Gee, God, I know Lot’s wife peeked over her shoulder and all … But turning her into a pillar of salt? Isn’t that just a bit extreme?” But, in fairness to God, when you put the “pillar of salt” thing in context, it might not seem so crazy.

Let’s start with the cities in question, Sodom and Gomorrah. The fact is, every city has its share of temptations, crime, and sin. But God doesn’t typically address the problem by wiping out every sign of life that exists there. So Sodom and Gomorrah had to be a special case. In fact, God had promised Abraham that he would spare the cities if there were even ten righteous people living there. Apparently, there were not. These cities were so infected with evil that thousands of years later, their very names remain synonymous with sin and corruption.

So, what about Lot’s wife? The Bible’s reference to her “looking back” has to mean she did more than just take a little peek to satisfy her curiosity. Who wouldn’t look back at their hometown if they knew it was being pelted with sulfur and fire? And why would God’s messengers, the angels who were sent to Lot’s home in Sodom, try to stop that behavior?

It seems likely that the angels’ command to “not look back” must take on a different meaning, a deeper purpose. The angels had to be saying something like: “After you’ve escaped from Sodom, there’s no looking back. You better not have any second thoughts about leaving that place behind you, completely and forever. If you think you’ll be allowed to carry the contagious germ of evil that pervaded Sodom and Gomorrah to the next place you go, you’re sadly mistaken. You need to completely disavow that place and everything it represents or else you won’t make it out alive.”

As it turns out, Lot’s wife couldn’t sever her ties with Sodom, and God knew that she had left at least a part of her heart in that wicked place. She wasn’t able to move on. In other words, she “looked back.”

Sin is a funny thing. We all know that it puts a wedge between us and God and, in the long run, brings nothing but misery. Still, it can be difficult to resist and even harder to stop if you ever give in. A dark force is undoubtedly alive and well in our world. Whether you want to label that force “the Devil,” “the Enemy,” or just the “force of evil,” it is real. And it makes sin attractive and sometimes even fun — until it turns your life upside down. Which is what sin will do to you, sooner or later.

When you finally decide you’re going to get out of town and leave your sinful life behind once and for all, be aware that your old bad behaviors will come beckoning, reminding you of the good times, downplaying the destruction and chaos. And if you give in to the temptation and start looking back fondly on the “good old days” when sin ruled your life, you will become mired in a state of spiritual paralysis — a pillar of salt, unable to enter that joyful place of God’s brilliant light.

The Bible doesn’t pull any punches. It says quite clearly that the wages of sin is death. Not just physical death, but spiritual death as well. Lot’s wife provides a very visible example of what happens to someone who chooses to nourish a spirit of evil and corruption. Thankfully, the Bible also gives us hope: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (WEB, Romans 6:23).

In other words, we do have a choice. We can buy into the world’s biggest lie: that we can be happy and fulfilled even when we disobey our Creator and live separate from him. Or, we can leave our old lives behind and move on, completely and without regret, by fixing our eyes on Jesus and following him. Only then can we be transported into a new place, a place where the heavy burden of sin will be removed from our backs and where we will receive the gift of eternal life, a life that is joyful, meaningful, and truly worth living.