Matthew Henry Commentary Genesis 13:10-13

"And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar. So Lot chose him all the Plain of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against Jehovah exceedingly." — Genesis 13:10-13 (ASV)

When Abram offered Lot the choice, he immediately accepted it. Passion and selfishness make people rude. Lot looked to the goodness of the land; therefore, he had no doubt that in such a fruitful soil he would certainly thrive. But what came of it?

Those who, in choosing relationships, callings, dwellings, or settlements, are guided and governed by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life, cannot expect God's presence or blessing. They are commonly disappointed even in that which they primarily aim at. In all our choices, this principle should rule: that is best for us which is best for our souls.

Lot hardly considered the wickedness of the inhabitants. The men of Sodom were brazen, daring sinners. This was the iniquity of Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness (Ezekiel 16:49). God often gives great plenty to great sinners. It has often been the painful experience of good people to live among wicked neighbors; and it must be the more distressing if, like Lot here, they have brought it upon themselves by a wrong choice.