Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no quarreling between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are close relatives. (…) Genesis 13.8
Does your family quarrel? Some families seem to make it into a sport at which they strive to excel. They argue about everything! If you are part of a family that argues, what is your reaction when the arguing starts? Does it make you uncomfortable or do you enter into the middle of the quarrels striving to prove your point of view?
Abram was a very wealthy man. Lot, his nephew, also had flocks, herds, and tents. The land was not able to support their flocks while they were living side by side. Soon the discontent of the herdsmen led to quarreling.
Abram proposed a solution for Lot. He did not want there to be any quarreling between them. Abram suggested that they separate the herds. He graciously gave the option of choice to Lot. Lot chose the whole region of the Jordan plain which was fertile and well-watered. Abram settled in the land of Canaan.
After Lot’s departure, God told Abram that the land that he could see in all directions would be his. God would give it to him and his descendants.
In the effort of maintaining the peace, Abram had offered a solution to Lot giving him the privilege of choice. May you learn to find possible answers to the sources of quarrels in your family and bring peace to it. In Matthew 5.9, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”