“For their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah.” (Deuteronomy 32:32)
Do you remember the story? God brought judgment on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, Genesis 19:24 says, “Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah.” Interestingly, God promised Abraham that he would not destroy the Sodom and Gomorrah if just ten righteous people could be found living there.
Apparently that didn’t happen because two angels later said to Abraham’s nephew, Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city – take them out of this place! For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (Genesis 19:12-13)
Sodom and Gomorrah were infested with sexual immorality. In fact, it was so bad that God Himself came down to check it out. “I will go down now,” he told Abraham, “and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:21)
The Old Testament story of the Lord’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah came to mind when Robbie and I traveled to New Orleans on business several years ago. It was a humid Saturday night. While going out for dinner, we walked by Bourbon Street.
I’ve never seen anything like it. The street was flooded with people and most of them were drunk and loud. We hadn’t been there five minutes when we saw a huge crowd of people surrounding what I thought must have been a famous person, pausing for autographs and pictures. What we saw wasn’t famous. On Bourbon Street, women are constantly heckled to expose their breasts for which they receive Mardi Gras-type beads from nearby admirers.
When we realized what was going on, we looked at each other in utter shock! But we weren’t as shocked by what we saw as we were shocked by what we felt. I looked right at Robbie and said, “I wonder if there are ten righteous people on this street?” We had seen Bourbon Street and were ready to make a fast exit.
It was then that we saw God at work, right there on Bourbon Street. Looking down the street, I saw a giant cross a couple blocks down. We worked our way through the crowd. There stood the cross and just below it read, “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)
We stood aside and watched as five or six young people passed out tracts and witnessed. It was so loud on the street that the leader used a microphone. We watched in disbelief as they were heckled and jeered by others who saw nothing wrong with Bourbon Street. “Live and let live,” yelled one of the hecklers, after which he and his friends stood there laughing at them.
We later learned that Bourbon Street is also a training ground for future missionaries. Hundreds of young people come to New Orleans to train on Bourbon Street. As one woman told my wife, “If you can survive on Bourbon Street, you can survive on any mission field.”
What’s the message here? I guess I brought two lessons home with me. First, cities like Sodom and Gomorrah still exist. In other words, sexual immorality is just as rampant now as it was then – maybe more. But more importantly, perhaps our greatest mission field is right before our eyes. We see it every day and probably never stop to think the difference that even one righteous person could make. The Apostle Paul said it this way, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)
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