…and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) - then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment. - 2 Peter 2:7-9.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. - 1 Corinthians 10:12-14.

Malibu, California has prepared emergency safety brochures to warn the residents of the area of possible dangers during emergencies. One such danger is warned against in the brochure by the following statement in capital letters: "NEVER GO TO THE BEACH TO WATCH FOR, OR SURF, A TSUNAMI WAVE!" Brad Davis, the Malibu emergency preparedness director, said the purpose of the warning was to cover all possibilities and he stated, "Some people may feel that we are stating the obvious and some people may not. We want to encourage people to move away from the coast rather than toward it." A Malibu surfer Candace Brown talking about the above statement contained in the preparedness booklet says, "I'm speechless. I think the last thing people will think about when they feel an earthquake is surfing."

Some things appear to normal people to be obvious. If you know a tsunami is coming a normal person would not go to the beach and wait for it to come ashore especially after seeing the destructive power of tsunamis in videos filmed during this past year. A normal person would know that trying to survive a tsunami is a near impossibility; much less trying to surf one. However, some people are not normal, and we know with approaching hurricanes that some people gathered on the beach; because they had never seen a hurricane. One person flew from California to Mississippi to video up close and personal the destructive force of the hurricane and they succeeded in doing it. Some people are employed as tornado chasers, but having come close to being destroyed by a tornado, and knowing its power; I know it is much wiser to seek shelter when one is coming your way.

The Bible tells us that Lot was a righteous person living in the evil Sodom and Gomorrah. By living in that evil place Lot "tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds." Being a righteous person and living in Sodom and Gomorrah is similar to trying to surf a tsunami. It is not going to happen!

We are to be the "salt of the earth" as Jesus says in Matthew chapter five and to do so we cannot completely withdraw from the world. But Jesus also warns about the salt losing its flavor. Continually exposing yourself to the evil of this world when it can be avoided is a dangerous thing to do spiritually. The apostle Paul warns, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." Going with immoral friends to immoral places will eventually result in a spiritual fall. Continually reading and watching immoral material will do the same to you.

In 1 Corinthians, we are told that along with temptation there will always be a "way of escape." Let us flee those temptations especially those, which are so very obvious finding that "way of escape." To do so may require changing our friends, our recreation, our reading habits, our TV watching habits, or our movie going habits, or something else. Remember you really cannot surf a tsunami. The best course of action in both cases is to run for your lives.