"Why Abraham is the Coolest"; Genesis 13:8-9

As I’ve studied the life of Abraham I’ve discovered something about him: he’s pretty darn cool.

One example is when he was travelling in the wilderness with his nephew Lot. Both of the men were pretty wealthy: they had large flocks of animals and lots of servants. So when these two men tried to settle down next to each other, it just didn’t work. The land couldn’t possibly support all of those animals and people in one place.

Now at this point some fighting started between Abraham’s and Lot’s herdsmen, anxious to take care of their animals but without enough space to do so. And this is the part of the story where

Abraham really shows what he’s made of. Instead of pulling the “I’m older and more important card” as many an older sibling or cousin has done, Abraham says to Lot, “Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee. . . Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

In other words, Abraham said, “Possessions don’t matter to me nearly as much as our relationship does. You choose where you want to settle first, and I’ll take whatever is left.” He’s awesome right? And his example also teaches us an important lesson: people are always, always, always more important than things.

Music courtesy of bensound.com

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