The Lord warns us to disassociate ourselves and be independent from the Sodoms and Gomorrahs in our lives. We must flee from our wickedness and sin or be "swept away in the punishment" for the wicked (Gn 19:15).

However, when the Lord warns us to hate sin while loving sinners, we hesitate (see Gn 19:16) instead of running for our lives. Like Lot, we even ask God if we can stay on the outskirts of sin's destruction rather than flee far away (Gn 19:20). We want the Lord to spare a small area of sin in our lives. We keep telling Him that it's such a small place, such a little thing (Gn 19:20) that He doesn't need to destroy it along with the grosser evils.

The Lord tells us to flee sin and not look back (Gn 19:17). We should have no regrets that we have left sin behind. However, like Lot's wife, some of us longingly look back on the old life as if it were something other than dehumanizing slavery (Gn 19:26; see also Lk 9:62). When we do this, we perish.

The Lord wants to crucify us to the world and the world to us (Gal 6:14). Make a clean, immediate break with sin; "avoid any semblance of evil" (1 Thes 5:22). Otherwise, we will be enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil 3:18). "Such as these will end in disaster!" (Phil 3:19)

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 1, 2011

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.