THE GENESIS ACCOUNT says Lot went to his sons-in-law and told them that there was trouble ahead (19:12), that the city was doomed, and that they’d better evacuate while the going was possible…

This is what the Bible says about their response:

“But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking” (Genesis 19:14).

The most serious moment in Lot’s life turned out to be a hysterically funny joke.  And why not?  What did they have to go on when Lot tried to offer special leadership?  His lifestyle?  The way he had lived in the past in Sodom?  He hadn’t talked about these things before; why should they be so excited when he suddenly raised these issues now?  Lot was no one to be talking about judgment; it certainly hadn’t marked his life before this.  He must be kidding.

Children do observe.  What do they see?  The answer separates the effective from the ineffective fathers.  The former takes note of the importance of exposure to his children — that every moment he is with them is a chance to make a positive impression for the purpose of character building and spirit development.  But the latter doesn’t see this.  His view of the family is one of simply living together and finding the home to be little more than a meeting place in which to eat, sleep, and have a little fun.  Gordon MacDonald, “Wear Shoes You Want to be Filled,”  The Effective Father, 99-100

“Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured…”  2 Timothy 3:10-11

–Mike Benson