Relatively rightous

Lot did not want to flee into the highlands because Avraham lived there, and compared with Avraham, Lot  would be considered a wicked man, and would die as a result. So he chose to rather flee to Tzo’ar, because if he did not live close to Avraham then he would not be compared with him. We asked the kinderlach if indeed Lot was a righteous man why would his definition change when he came near Avraham; isn’t a person judged on his own merits? One suggestion was that sometimes a person has a certain level of observance and holds it in the face of all obstacles; he holds to it stubbornly, and yet will not grow in observance, even when provided with the opportunity to do so. Perhaps Lot was of this type. Lot indeed was a tzaddik where he was, keeping his morality among the degradation of S’dom, but coming to Avraham meant that he must grow spiritually, and he wasn’t ready to do that. Another suggestion was that the name “Tzaddik“ is given to that individual or group who represent Hashem’s interests. Those individuals are Hashem’s men, so as to speak, and are treated by Hashem accordingly. In S’dom Lot was the representative of Hashem and was saved in that merit, but not in Avraham’s town.