Everyone at some point considers Lot’s wife who became a pillar of salt because she looked back as they were fleeing Sodom. Why did she do that? Curiosity? Sadness? Longing? Fear? All of the above?
I was thinking about her yesterday because Sodom & Gomorrah were mentioned in Sunday School. Not at all central to any point in the lesson, but the mere mention of those cities names put her unfathomable action into my head.
I mean, Sodom and Gomorrah were not good places to live. These cities were so wicked that Lot offered his own virgin daughters to the townsfolk in order to protect the Angles from them. I can’t believe that Mrs. Lot was NOT hounding dear hubby to leave long before this day of judgement. Instead of looking back, I would have been dancing with joy on the march out of town, thanking God for finally forcing my husband to get us out of there! So, what was she thinking when she turned back?
The first Divinely inspired enlightenment was instant:
“Old Habits Die Hard”
In the network marketing industry, there are a lot of bad advice and methodologies taught. You often hear the phrase “the blind leading the blind” used to describe this. Others have said that there are self-professed “coaches” and gurus out there who know nothing about networking nor marketing. But when someone learns a new technique, and even have proof that it works, before they can even practice enough in order to attain any level of mastery, they go back to those old habits.
Did Lot’s wife have a daily routine that was habit, and suddenly realize, “What am I going to do with the time I usually spend making sure the home security system is in working order every day?” For some in our industry, they don’t know what to do with themselves when they’ve been freed from the slavery of spending hours posting free online ads that never really worked, so they start doing it again out of habit. (Which only ingrains bad habits, instead of reinforcing new ones.)
Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt.
One reason Mrs. Lot may have looked back was hinted at during Sunday School:
“Witnessing to Friends and Family is Hardest”
The hardest people to Witness to about the Gospel, or invite to a business “opportunity” overview are friends & family. As a matter of fact, when one’s mind grows beyond the boundaries imposed on it (whether intentional or unintentional) by the people with whom we’re most familiar, those are the very people who either give us the most grief about it, or from whom we fear receiving the most grief.
Did Lot’s wife regret leaving her old friends behind? Why didn’t she look forward to the new friends (BETTER friends) she’d find in her future? Had she been trying to share her Mighty God with her friends and they ridiculed her? Or had she never talked to them, and now looked back with regret for failing them?
These two points lead us to another realization that may have plagued Mrs. Lot:
“Beware the Comfort Zone”
Those old habits, and those friends and family are comfortable. The first obstacle anyone faces when presented with a business endeavor is learning to step out of our “worker-bee” comfort zone and into the fully responsible business owner. Up to this point, we’ve allowed our friends, family, co-workers, and bosses to define us and define what behavior and thought patterns are acceptable from us. All of a sudden, we’re stepping up into a Position of Leadership, creating our own definitions of what’s acceptable, making the hard decisions about our own future. Out of the 98% and into the 2%. But to be successful, we have to learn and implement some thought processes and skills that will separate us from that old circle of family, friends, and acquaintances - in more ways than one.
We first learn to be humble so that we’re teachable and willing to learn. That’s not at all like all the people you’re about to leave behind who think they already have all the answers and already know everything.
Then we learn, practice, and implement new thought processes and techniques that are necessary to achieve success. All those people you left behind think that the choice between the red pill and blue pill is just cool scene in a movie, and never realize that it’s a metaphor for the choices we make (or choose not to make) daily. Those who keep looking back, and possibly going back, are the Cypher to our striving to become Neo.
Did Lot’s wife start missing her comfort zone so quickly? Or did she suddenly realize the reality of the destruction of her comfort zone? There would be nothing left to go back to!
On this morning’s Millionaire Mind Set call (email me for the info – please join us), we were talking about the Fear of Poverty, and how it can cause some people to go so far as to take advantage of, or mistreat, others in order to achieve success at all costs. They’re missing the point that our goal is to:
“Improve Life for All Creatures on Earth”
One of the questions one should always ask when considering a potential business endeavor is whether or not this business, it’s products and/or services, and the proposed modus operandi will make life better for the lives of all who are touched by it. A better Quality of Life. If the answer is no, then that business will not be here for the long-run and you are better off staying out of it. I see so many people in my industry whose heads are turned by the promise of a quick buck, that they fail to project (dare I say “imagine?”) what the long-term potential effect will be: for long-term income, future self-respect, and the constructive or destructive path one must take to reach one’s ultimate goals.
Did Lot’s wife truly fail to see that the new path she was on would make life better for all? That she’d be living a life of which she could be proud? Or was she questioning God’s Will at the moment she turned around?
God is calling us to be better than our past, and the World needs us to be Neo. Only by stepping up into that Position of Leadership can we make the lives of those we touch better. Sharing the Gospel, as well as sharing better products and services, and offering a better quality of Life on Earth, is our calling.
We’re offering a hand up, not a hand out, but only a small percentage of the population will take us up on that offer. Shake the dust off your feet and don’t lament over the ones who refuse help. And then only 2% of those who join you will manage not to be Lot’s wife, successfully attaining that Position of Leadership to which they’ve been called: improving the lives of all creatures on Earth.
