Do you know the best way to catch a monkey? A weird question, I know, but trust me, it’s important! I remember watching an episode of some nature show on TV when I was a kid, and the host showed how hunters trap wild monkeys. They didn’t need guns, nets, or sophisticated equipment. All they needed was a gourd and some bait. The hunter carved a small hole into the gourd, just big enough for a monkey to fit its paw inside, and then staked the gourd to the ground. Next, they dropped the bait inside the gourd, and sat back to wait. Before long, a monkey would come across the bait, stick its arm inside the hole and grab the bait in a fist. The problem for the monkey was the hole wasn’t wide enough to get its fist back out again! Couldn’t the monkey just let go of the bait, pull its arm out and run off? Easily! But the monkey is so intent to hold on to that prize that it won’t let go. It will try everything to pull its arm out, but it won’t let go of the bait, even as the hunter approaches to capture it.
A pretty foolish monkey, right? Absolutely! Do you know Satan’s favorite way to catch a human? It’s pretty simple, actually. He uses the things already present in a person’s life, especially the good things, and uses them as bait. He waits until the person becomes so intent on holding tightly to that thing that they’re unwilling to let it go, even if it means eternal death. God’s word warns us this morning, “Don’t trap yourselves by clinging so tightly to the things of this world that you aren’t prepared for Jesus’ coming!
In Genesis 19, which we heard earlier, a man named Lot, and his wife, serve as clear examples of people with their hearts caught in the “monkey trap” of the world.
Lot was the nephew of the patriarch Abraham, and initially the two traveled together. But eventually their huge flocks necessitated that they split up and spread out. Lot chose the lush, green land by a city called Sodom. Lot liked Sodom so much that he eventually left his nomadic life, and settled into a house inside the city. It was a good business decision for Lot, as he and his family built quite a cushy life for themselves, but it was a poor spiritual decision. Sodom, and its sister city Gomorrah, were disgustingly wicked; so sinfully opposed to God, that God told Abraham, “I’m going to destroy the cities,” bringing down his destructive judgment, because of their destructive evil.
And so two angels arrived in Sodom to carry out God’s work. Lot met these “men” there, and the angels revealed their holy power and identity to him. Then, they relayed a divine warning from God. “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
The warning was obvious. God’s judgment was coming against these wicked people for their unbelief. God’s wrath would sweep away everything in the city as easily as a broom sweeps away dust. Every person, every animal, even the grass.
A terrifying warning from God, delivered by powerful angels! We’d expect Lot and his family to be tripping all over each other to get out of the city, right? But much like a monkey, desperately clutching its prize as the hunter closes in, Lot “hesitated.”
We just wanna shout! “What are you doing? Run! Destruction is coming! Take your family and get out of there!” But, as Lot stands in his living room, taking in everything he owned, contemplating the powerful position he’d achieved and the cushy life they’ve earned, he thinks, “I don’t want to let it go.” To follow God’s command meant to sacrifice, to let go of the things his heart had grown so fond of. So he hesitates.
For the past month in church, we’ve been talking about Judgment Day; how Jesus will come back in Judgment against all unbelievers, but come back in love for all believers. Like Lot, you’ve heard the warning of coming judgment! And once again, not powerful angels, but God himself tells us, “Be prepared! It’s coming!”
Jesus warns us about his return, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” Basically, Jesus is warning us not to get caught up in the monkey trap of life!
We just thanked God for the innumerable things he’s poured into our lives to bless us! And certainly, all of those things are amazing blessings! But we need to be cautious, because those are the things which Satan uses as bait to trap us as well. When those blessings become the thing we hold focus on above everything else, when they become the things on which we depend and put our hope, they become the bait at the bottom of the trap that we can’t let go of. Is it your job? Your money? Your pride? Your family? Your social life? Your identity? All of those are good things, aren’t they? But if we do some serious, honest analysis and soul searching, and find that those good things are leading us away from Christ, or pushing God and his word out of our lives, then as the angels warned Lot, we need to flee! Run, don’t hesitate, and get as far away from that trap as possible!
That’s not to say that you need to abandon your family, quit your job, or stop enjoying your hobbies. But it does mean that you need to examine your priorities. What things are most important to you? Where does your heart reside? Are you willing to let go of those things if they’re leading you away from God? Maybe it’s hard for us to do, or even think about letting go of some of the things in our lives. But Jesus tells us why it’s so important to keep God as our top priority.
Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Our bodies, our belongings, our wealth, our family, literally everything on earth will pass away. When Jesus returns, only one thing will remain, and only one thing matters. His Word! As Paul wrote, “May (God) strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” So how can we be prepared for Jesus’ coming? How can we make sure we’re properly focused on the right things? By taking every opportunity to have our faith strengthened by the Word and Sacraments! That priority needs to top everything else, because in the end, our faith is the only thing that matters.
Lot was falling into that monkey trap. He was clutching tightly to his stuff, and ignoring God’s words. That’s why the angels had to break his grip on it. “When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city.” It sounds ridiculous, but the angels literally had to force Lot and his family to be rescued! They had to be forced, because they were clinging to things that would lead to their destruction.
That’s what God had to do for us too. By nature, we were slaves, chained to our sin. Clinging to things that would lead to our destruction, refusing to be saved. So Christ grabbed us by the hand and pulled us out of certain destruction to eternal safety! He dragged our screaming sinful nature and drowned it in the waters of baptism. The Holy Spirit has broken through our stony hearts of unbelief and worked saving faith in them. Jesus ripped our sins away from us and clutched them tightly to himself and went to the cross to destroy them. You see, the angels didn’t save Lot’s family because they deserved it. No, the angels “led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.” God didn’t save us because we’d earned it either. He was merciful to Lot, and merciful to us!
Once the angels guided Lot and his family safely away from the cities, they had one final command for them, “Flee for your lives. Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” “Don’t look back” they told them. Don’t mourn for the things you’re leaving behind! However, Lot’s wife turns around to look back at Sodom, and is turned into a pillar of salt, a perpetual reminder for many generations of the importance of listening to God’s warnings.
She doesn’t turn back in curiosity, or because she forgot what God had said. Lot’s wife looks back at Sodom because her heart was still desperately hanging on to her life there. God strikes her in judgment because he knows her heart, a heart which was unwilling to put him first. God has led us safely from death to life, through Christ. We have the most important thing. So there’s no need to look back!
Don’t look back longingly at the life of sin you leave behind to follow Christ. Rather, look forward to Christ’s coming! Keep looking forward to what joys await you in Heaven! Keep looking forward to what you are in Christ, and what you will be in eternity.
Don’t look back! People shout that phrase to runners sometimes. As a runner nears the finish line, the temptation pops up to take a peek backwards over their shoulder to see who’s behind them. It’s a natural inclination. But if they look back, they slow themselves down. If they look backwards, they take their eyes off the path ahead, and set themselves up to trip and fall. They just need to keep looking forward. Keep focusing on the finish line, and nothing else matters.
That’s how life is for us as Christians. Christ’s sacrifice has made it so nothing behind us matters anymore. We don’t need to look backwards, because something greater is waiting ahead for us! Like Lot, we sometimes hesitate to let go of the things in our life, but Jesus has taken your hand, and pulled you to safety. Sometimes, like Lot’s wife, we long to peek back over our shoulders longingly at what we’ve left behind. But God’s Word gently takes you by the chin, and guides your eyes forward to Jesus’ return to bring eternal life. Nothing can compare. Nothing comes close. As we look forward to Jesus’ coming, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Just let it go, and keep looking forward.