LOT, THE PILLAR OF SALT, AND REGRET

The Biblical story of the destruction of the Middle Eastern cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is well known. Divine fire consumed them as punishment for horrific attitudes and behavior by their populations. Lot, a relative of Abraham, and his family were spared this fate and told to leave without looking back. Lot’s wife did look back and was turned into a pillar of salt for her action.

Lot’s wife was looking back to her lost home and lifestyle, where she had been raising her children. It is important to remember the past and to learn from it. As individuals, as societies, and as cultures, the past made us what we have aspired to be and what we have become. For better or worse, our experiences and influences are necessary predecessors for every outcome. Nobody, no group of people, attains a righteous goal without faltering along the way. 

Everything in the present is the embodiment of all that went before. We should cherish all these events, even those we disapprove of, because it took all of that to move along the paths of life. The good and the bad that we live through are the building blocks of the present. We do not and cannot pick and choose selective episodes or factors of our genetics, upbringing, culture, or history to include as part of ourselves. If we are dissatisfied with life, we can institute change to head in a different direction. Building upon the successes and correcting for the failures are the tasks of inhabiting the earth.

Lot’s wife “looked back” because her mind was distressed. The realization of her life’s mistakes overwhelmed her with guilt. In looking back, she longed for a second chance to undo and remake her decisions. Remorse consumed her thinking. She regretted the past as she fled from it. In short: she carried a huge burden of remorse and sorrow. 

The anxiety fostered by this unbearable encumbrance put her into a dark and lonely fever. This woman cried her eyes out. She moved sodium chloride (salt) from inside to outside her body. Her anguished and insatiable regret covered her in tears. One might say she became a regretful pillar of tears – a pillar of salt.

One can take regret and turn it into growth and healing. But when the emotion takes charge, it leaves reason and hope behind.

Regret is a fruitless, energy-squandering emotion. Time and effort spent regretting the past is destructive to the mind, body, and soul. 

Regret burns a hole in the world. What has transpired cannot be altered. Leaping into the fire of regret breeds fear and self-loathing. When it smothers reason, it is a drain of energy and a waste of time. Regret conquers the will to move forward. It distracts the heart from constructive endeavors. It entombs a life in an unacceptable past. This was the temperament of Lot’s wife as she fled Sodom.

Strong negative emotions often claim primacy. Many will recognize this when they are seething with anger, fear, or hatred. Self pity and envy are quieter detractors. Regret is the most insidious because it is easily justified and disregarded as a learning experience. It is naively classified as a positive force and then ignored. But these powerful feelings seek to dominate the conversation and the mind. That makes them destructive.

Emotion is a wonderful part of being human. Whether useful or deleterious, passion adds great force to our lives. But when the intensity becomes overpowering, it interferes with reason and thought, also wonderful human traits. Malevolent emotions denigrate life. They can be controlled.

Hating, being angry, and regretting are negative emotions that can lead to health impairment. By draining us of the energy we need to perform biological functions, we become more susceptible to organic and infectious diseases. Anxiety and other psychological problems are facilitated.   

Having regret for something we said or did is just part of life. Focusing on our regrets excludes hope and optimism. Whatever the source of regret, just smile and move forward. Lot’s wife was unable to do that. She could have and so can we all. Putting regret aside is the lesson of the episode of Lot’s wife.