Sodom’s sins were arrogance, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door. She was haughty and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen. (Ezekiel 16:49-50)
Read: Ezekiel 16:42 – 17:24, Hebrews 8:1-13, Psalm 106:13-31, Proverbs 27:7-9
Relate: It would not be fair to say that I can be arrogant sometimes. Neither would it be honest. A more fair assessment would be that I am a bit arrogant most of the time. I can dress it up all nice and call it a healthy self image, personal confidence, a by product of being extroverted or whatever. The fact is, it’s arrogance.
I can also be gluttonous. Just yesterday I treated myself to a nice meal of Iskender (pictured above) before shooting over to Starbucks to do some writing. There I bought myself a venti caramel macchiato. I grabbed a bag of chips and a liter of fuse tea for the commute home. Once I hopped off the Marmaray and was waiting to switch to the bus, I also bought a tavuk doner (chicken gyro… sort of). The Iskender all by itself was more than enough to carry me through the night. Everything else served only to support my mid level expansion.
I am lazy. I can literally sit for an entire day curled up in a chair with a good book reading while my to do list goes ignored. I am a master procrastinator and the harder a task might be to accomplish, the more I will put off getting it done.
It is easier to see the needs of those around me that I do nothing about than it ever was in Ezekiel’s time. By “outside her door” Ezekiel was talking about those she (Sodom) had the power to do something about. In our day and age, we have fewer and fewer excuses for not doing something about the needs we see and hear about. Every day I am passing by refugees at multiple intersections, parks and walk bridges. Because I see them so often, I become blind and calloused to the need they represent.
I am haughty. Where arrogance is an overemphasis of my own supposed greatness, haughtiness is an overemphasis of the weakness or failings in others. Sometimes I feel like I have an internal radar whose sole job is to seek out and exploit any weaknesses I can find in others. Sometimes I think that radar is far, far too good at its job.
React: When I am honest with myself, there is no way I can say anything except, “I am Sodom.” Just as I pointed a mirror of their sins on my own life, I could do the same pointing to how the western culture I was raised in, particularly American culture, is guilty of them all as well.
Jesus did the same when he spoke against the towns he had preached in. He said that it will be worse for them at the day of judgment than for Sodom and Gomorrah. They were a very religious people, but they weren’t followers of Jesus. Sodom had never heard the gospel but Israel did… America has… so have I. The people of Jesus’ time were worse than Sodom. America and most of the Western world today is worse than Sodom. If not for the grace of God, I am worse than Sodom. What about you?
Respond:
Dear God, I repent. I am sorry for my arrogance, my laziness, my apathy, and my pride. I am sorry for my sin. Help me to change. Help me to stop being so religious and start becoming a better follower of You. Help me also to stop focusing on the “detestable” sins of others. Instead help me to focus on Your beauty and holiness. Slowly, gradually, step by step and day by day I ask that You would let that holiness and beauty be reflected in me that the world will see. Help me to remember that it is Your kindness that leads us to repentance.
THE RIVER WALK 
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It is incorrect to say that Sodom’s sins were only arrogance, gluttony, and laziness. Homosexual intercourse is also condemned as sinful. See the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19: 4-11.
I am just quoting scripture.
You wrote “Sodom’s sins were arrogance, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door.”
The Book of Genesis is the primary source that mentions the city of Sodom (and Gomorrah). For some reason you chose to ignore this. The primary sin of Sodom was obviously homosexual intercourse.
Just saying…
The only scripture in the Bible where the sins of Sodom are explicitly stated is Ezekiel 16:49-50.
In Genesis 18:20 and again in 19:13 God says that the outcry is great and their sin is grievous. It is to Ezekiel that God says specifically *what* that grievous sin was. Just saying…
It is quite clear to me (and nearly everyone else?) what the main sin of Sodom was.
We do no all need lists to make things clear.
When God says, “This was the sin of Sodom…” and you are saying, “No, it is this…” I really think you are standing on shaky ground.
I’ll stand on the firm ground of Genesis, a text you seem unfamiliar with.
Paul, he never wrote that their sins were only arrogance, gluttony, and laziness. His
remarks came straight from Ezekiel 16.
Guys come on. There isn’t a need for an argument. The reality is that you’received both right. Clearly homosexuality was one of the main issues , but as you can see in Ezekial, as was quoted by beejai in Ezekial, God saw the root of the problem with them. So both of you are right. Paul there isn’t a need to pick a fight for something like this. I say that on all love because it’s a terrible thing when believers are fighting about things we shouldn’t. You both are correct and are standing on truth. Both you move on unity and peace. No big deal. Let’s honour God please.
Sorry for horrible grammar. Was in a rush. Lol
The true sins of Sodom……AMEN
Appreciate your vulnerability. That’s often risky and always humbling. Thanks for sharing.
Very real…enjoyed reading
The arguer in me is wanting to point my finger at you and say, “How dare you point your finger at America especially when we take care of the rest of the world when catastrophes strike.” However, the truth side of me sees that we, as a nation, have strayed so far from God that we now call bad good and good bad…Just like Sodom.
It is good to see you recognise your faults and the faults of many in the world today. We all make mistakes and fall short of the glory of God, but like you I am thankful for the grace of God which covers over a multitude of sins. Thanks for sharing!
The question I must ask, after reading through this discourse is how arrogance, gluttony, and laziness is in any way different than homosexuality? The one is just an outward form of the inner condition. Did not America make the same error very recently as that of Sodom by legalizing homosexuality throughout its borders? Was this not anything more than an acquiescence to its arrogance, gluttony, and laziness?
Exactly. Was trying to write that, but you said it. God saw the root of problem of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. No difference indeed. God always always deals with the root cause of an issue primarily.
Beejai, sometimes when you tell the truth, people simply don’t want to hear it, don’t want to seek it, don’t want to see it. Thank you for your courage.
Every sin stems from spiritual laziness: if we repented and kept to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we’d stop committing anything abominable in God’s eyes, including over-eating when people are sinning, pre-marital sex, adultery in our hearts, and murder in our hearts. Arguing which sin is worse is like saying God grades on a curve. He doesn’t at that’s why we ALL need Jesus Christ. Thanks BJ for your post, and I just read that verse in my one-year-Bible, too (Ezekiel: one of my favorite books in the Bible).
I mean to say “over-eating while people are starving,” lol. I make myself laugh sometimes with my literary laziness. : )
It has become so easy to be all of these things. For the most part we spend our days searching for comfort rather than God’s will. When I examine my life I can identify moments when I can honestly say this hasn’t been me, but not many. I seek comfort and try to call it a good life when really what I desire in my soul is so much more but I’m scared and even too lazy at times to pursue it. I want to give God my all every day but the reality is that I do well for a while and really feel closer to God but then I let it slip away again. I guess I just get lazy. Thank you for your post and your honesty.
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Ugh! The procrastination struggle! Looking to God for help there!