Righteous Lot

Sometimes, I read something in the Bible that shines a light on my disbelief. I read that I should love those who hate me and do good to them who despitefully use me. I read that I should love my neighbor and never return evil for evil, but return rather good for evil, and leave room for God's wrath. In my great wisdom, even while I say, "I believe God; His Word is True," I rationalize some things. Really, God must have meant to placate those who hate me, but never lose my dignity as a child of God over it. He must have meant don't do evil when evil is done to me, not actually to do GOOD to the one who deals with me despicably. Right? No, I cannot get that from Scripture.

When I despised God, and treated His good will as foolishness He loved me. He gave me life. He gave me day after day of sunshine and the common joy of life which is found in living and breathing and sharing this world that He created so beautifully with others whom He also created. Not only that, He LOVED me! He gave me a husband and children, when I had despised His plan for such. But that was not all, no sir! All the while I was mocking Him, He also turned my heart of stone to flesh and gave me repentance and faith and salvation! He gave me eternal life, according to His own good pleasure!

So He did not just fail to do evil to me when I did Him evil, but He did good as no one else can!

Everywhere I see, as He opens my eyes, that what He says in His word is true.

So when I read that Lot is Righteous, and I don't think he is, I must be wrong:

II Peter 2

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to
hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its
ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and
seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by
burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to
happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was
distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man,
living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by
the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord
knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous
for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10 This
is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful
nature and despise authority.

(Thanks Midge!)