June 21, 2015

Chapters 1 and 2 of Amos are basically concerned with God’s angry judgment of the heathen nations that are the neighbors of Israel and Judah. In chapters 3-6, however, Amos focuses upon the judgment of God that will fall upon Israel. It is much the same as if Amos began with Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America and then focused his judgment upon the United States.

"Wait a minute," you may object, "what could possibly be wrong with us? We’re a Christian nation, aren’t we? Our coins testify with ‘In God We Trust.’ Does not Congress begin with prayer? Surely God doesn’t hate us?"

If that gets the adrenalin flowing, let me assure you the people who heard Amos felt much the same way. Were they not God’s people? Did they not have a covenant with the Lord? Were they not offering worthy sacrifices in His House? Were they not the people of His Law?

So, then, why would God pronounce: "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure in the hills of Samaria … O you who put far away the evil day, and bring near the seat of violence … I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds …" (6:1,3,8). There’s more, but you get the idea.

The people of Israel, God’s people, were being harshly judged by the Lord and couldn’t – or wouldn’t – understand why. Is it possible that we cannot or will not recognize that we, the Christians of America, are under the same judgment – as well as for some of the same reasons?

I am not a prophet and I am not saying God is judging us as He was judging Israel – nor am I saying He is not. That is something you can and must decide for yourself.

So while you are in that process, consider the words of Amos in 6:4-7: "Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat lambs from the flock, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp … who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!" (6:4-6).

I recognize that few or none of us actually likely to be guilty of any of the above. But if we translate the setting from the eighth century B.C. to the 21st century, I think we can easily come up with parallels. Amos is talking about a lifestyle of self-indulgence that in actuality is a materialistic substitute for God and the life to which He calls us.

None of this should surprise us, for the warnings are prominent in both the Old and New Testaments: "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" (Proverbs 22:1). "He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent" (Prov. 28:20). "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break in and steal" (Mt. 6:19).

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Mt. 19-24; Mark 10:25). See also Mk. 4:19, 10:23Lk. 1:53;6:24;16:1-22;`8:23-25; 1 Cor.4:8;1 Tim. 6:9; Jas 1:11; 2:06, 5:02.

I know some of you will think, Yes, but that doesn’t apply to me, for I am not rich.

Proportionately, that may be true of a few of us, but despite our bills and indebtedness, we are the possessors of a wealth that most of those who heard Jesus could not imagine.

Many of us fail to recognize how richly God has blessed us with the things of this world.

It may be that we have less in our bank accounts to pay the month’s bills, but is that because we earn too little or spend too much?

In our Dallas newspaper today there is an article on the business page by a writer who thinks "erosion of our workforce" is too polite a term, "so I’m just going to come right out and say it: There are just a lot of unmotivated, poorly educated … workers out there who couldn’t care less about increasing productivity or being nice to customers …"

He is not alone in believing a principal reason for poverty is the unwillingness of poor people to work and a scandalous dependence on a lavish government. Yes, there are people too lazy to work and there are people too discouraged to find a sustainable employment. Yes, there are poor people who cheat, and there are lots of well-off people who cheat on a much higher level and greater volume.

Yes, there are poor people too dependent upon the government, but there are also business enterprises too dependent upon the government. Far too many people are born into poverty, raised in poverty and defeated by poverty before they get help in breaking the cycle of poverty.

Yes, and many give in because there seems to be no way out.

But there is something else that seldom becomes part of the discussion: Jesus, who many of us claim to follow, never, never, never spoke of the "poor" to whom we are to minister as being "worthy" or "unworthy" of our charity. He never said "make sure they’re not just lazy, before we give our hard-earned money to help them."

That is because Jesus and his Good News is focused on something we all want from God and are often too selfish to give others: Grace. The true follower of Jesus Christ needs to thank our God that we do not "get" just "what we have coming to us!"

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.