Let the Other Person Choose First

When the herdsmen of Abram and Lot began to quarrel over grazing land, Abram did something that made no business sense. He was the elder, the one with the promise, the one who had brought Lot along. He could have chosen the best pasture and told his nephew to make do. Instead he said, in effect, you pick. If you go left, I will go right. Lot looked at the well-watered plain of the Jordan and took it. Abram was left with the hill country.

Then the Lord spoke to Abram, told him to look in every direction, and promised him all of it, and offspring like the dust of the earth.

The lesson for an ordinary week is about deference. Most of our conflicts are over small territory: who gets the parking spot, whose plan wins, whose turn it is to be inconvenienced. Abram shows that a person who trusts God's provision can afford to let others choose first. He did not lose by yielding, because his portion was never in Lot's hands. Neither is yours.

Try it once this week. In a low-stakes disagreement, give the other person the choice and watch what it does to your own heart. Generosity is easier when you believe the land is already promised.