What would you do for family?

Abram and Lot both acquired much wealth by way of livestock and gold. But with much wealth and property, they were overcrowding a bit. The time had come for them to part ways — for the health of their relationships.

“So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”” (Genesis‬ ‭13:8–9)

This might be my most unpopular post to date, but sometimes we need some distance from family. And this statement is coming from a gal who hasn’t lived in the same city as family since 2002 and currently craving it.

I’m not saying this is true all the time, I’m not saying it’s for everyone, and I’m not saying this is the only takeaway from this passage. AND I’m not saying this is advice for married couples! (How’s that for disclaimers?) But this was an incredibly wise and healthy move on Abram’s part. Family is important and needed — especially in hard times. But sometimes space is needed. Boundaries with family aren’t a bad thing.

What would you be willing to do for the health of your family? For Abram it was distance.

(Bonus: later in chapter 14 when Lot hit hard times, Abram immediately took his best trained men and went to rescue Lot. He showed up. He wasn’t uninvolved or uninterested once they lived apart.)