Genesis 14:21-24
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

The king of Sodom finally says what he really wants. “Give me the persons.” Literally, “Give me the souls.”

That is still the enemy’s strategy. He is content to let a man play with toys and trinkets, chase gain, stack up possessions, and admire the glitter, so long as he gets the soul. He is not bothered by outward success if inwardly a life is being pulled away from God. He will gladly say, “Take the goods. Just give me the heart. Give me the mind. Give me the affections. Give me the soul.”

But Abram will have none of it.

And I love how firm he is here. He does not bargain. He does not hesitate. He does not try to keep one foot in Salem and one foot in Sodom. He says, in effect, “Not a thread. Not a shoelatchet. Not one thing.”

Why is Abram able to say no so clearly?

Because he has already said yes somewhere else.

That is the key. Abram had just met Melchizedek, king of Salem. He had received bread and wine. He had been blessed by the priest of the most high God. He had been reminded that God alone had delivered his enemies into his hand. His heart had already been satisfied in a better place.

That is how temptation loses its force.

The power to say no to Sodom does not come mainly from gritting your teeth. It comes from having been with Jesus. It comes from communion with the King of Salem. When a soul has been fed with bread and wine, when the heart has freshly remembered the Lord’s goodness, when worship has risen and gratitude has softened the inner man, the offers of Sodom start to look cheap.

Abram understood something vital. If he took what Sodom offered, Sodom would claim credit for what God had done. “Lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich.” Abram wanted it to be crystal clear that his blessing came from the Lord, not from the king of Sodom.

That is a needed word for all of us.

There are opportunities that would profit us, but stain the testimony.
There are arrangements that would enrich us, but cloud the witness.
There are gifts that are not gifts at all, because once you take them, the enemy starts writing the story of your life.

Abram says no because he wants God to get all the glory.

And this is where the passage becomes very personal. How do I say no to the seduction of the world? How do I turn down what flatters the flesh? How do I refuse what looks attractive but carries the scent of Sodom?

By saying yes to Jesus again and again.

By coming to His Table.
By remembering His broken body and shed blood.
By letting Communion pull my heart back to what matters most.
By giving to Him gladly, not as pressure, but as response.
By living in such fellowship with the King of Peace that the king of Sodom has nothing in me to answer to.

The world says, “Take the goods.”
Jesus says, “Take, eat.”
The world says, “Keep the treasures.”
Jesus says, “Remember Me.”
The world says, “Gain more.”
Jesus says, “Follow Me.”

One path fattens the hands and starves the soul.
The other may cost you something outwardly, but it keeps you clean, free, and full of peace.

Abram walked away from Sodom’s offer because he had already stood in Salem’s presence.

Saints, that is still the secret.

A soul satisfied in Christ is hard to seduce.
A heart that has been with Jesus can spot the poison in the glitter.
A man or woman who has lifted up their hand unto the Lord is able to say, with quiet strength, “Not one thing.”