Charity is respect
This week's verses are on Amos 2:6-8:
“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions—
make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.
They sold the innocent for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals.
They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor;
they push the destitute away.
A man and his father go to the same girl;
in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.
They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;
they do so right beside every altar!
They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;
they do so right in the temple of their God!
These verses are God's word to Amos about the Israelites and how very much trouble they were in. Remember the verses from last week about fasting, and how we should be focusing on getting close to God, not just on the gaps in our plate? When these verses were written, God's chosen righteous people at the time were not being very righteous at all.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like they were selling people into slavery and oppressing the weak. They were dabbling in other religions and emulating the tax and tribute systems of the pagan nations around them. Today we would probably call that globalism and multiculturalism and have some nice news stories on how they are innovating and disrupting the old ways of doing business. But God calls it what it is: disrespect for his moral purity.
Judas sold the innocent (Jesus) for silver, but that's not exactly what they're getting at here. Have we ever sold the innocent for silver? Have we been unethical in our jobs, turning a blind eye to something wrong, in order to get a promotion, or to keep our jobs, or to keep the company profitable? If so, like the Israelites God is condemning, we have put others in harm's way in order to profit from it.
Selling the needy for a pair of sandals: is that like sneakers made in a sweatshop? Not exactly, but kind of. He's talking about exploiting the poor and weak for a very tiny profit. Do we support sweatshops and massive environmental pollution in order to save a dollar or two on something in the store? It's a self-first strategy of living that God condemns. We should be helping those in need, not taking advantage of their desperation for money to put them in a worse place, especially for something as trivial as cheap consumer goods.
They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor and push the destitute away. This describes a total, numb disregard of the needy. Have you ever pretended not to see someone in need? Cut off a beggar before they could speak? When you're comfortable and are constantly confronted with people who want something from you, it's a natural reaction. But it means your heart has grown cold and calloused. If you have no heart for charity, on some level you are pushing the destitute away, stepping on them rather than over them, by pretending their needs aren't in front of you. You just want to move forward with your day, past them, through them, or over them.
A man and his father are said to go to the same girl. This is supposed to refer to pagan practices of some kind, not sexual immorality per se. But how many detestable practices of our modern society do we go along with, the same as these two generations of father and son did, just because all of our neighbors are supporting it? Gender strife, racial animosity and scapegoating, materialism, sexual immorality, elements of false religions, donkeys and elephants fighting to the death while the neglected children all around cry. You name it. Go to any news site and you will see all of it presented as normal or even desirable. When the man and his father went to the girl mentioned, did it seem any less normal to them than our detestable behavior does to us?
They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral, right beside the altar. Have we ever held a grudge against someone? Even long enough for us to go to church while holding onto it? For a man to give you his clothing as collateral, he has to be in a desperate place. God is condemning someone who holds a man in such crushing debt, and is brazen enough to do it right in church. Is that us when we don't forgive others for their terrible mistakes?
They drink wine with the fines they levied, right in the temple of their God. How do you manage your authority? Here the people in authority raised taxes so much that they had enough money to party with it. Have you been to a church where they push the tithing message every week to the poor congregation while the leadership live in conspicuous luxury? Have you seen government career workers making comfortable mid-six figure salaries "serving" communities with double digit unemployment rates? There's a point where fines become graft, and the people God was condemning were well beyond that line. They had gone so far that they didn't even try to hide it.
Maybe these verses are convicting to you as they are written, or maybe they say something else to you. But as we continue through this time of Lent, take some time to examine yourself. Verses like these, where God is complaining about something Israel did, are often a helpful framework to examine ourselves as well. Have you ever heard someone else getting yelled at for something you had done wrong too? Aren't you glad to have time to fix whatever it is? Aren't you glad it isn't you being yelled at this time?
I picked these verses because they concern charity, and charity is something we often skimp on during our normal day to day lives. But here God spells it out. Charity to others is respect for God's order and his people. He created us to live a certain way, and when we try to cut corners to make a profit for ourselves, it is disrespectful to him and the wisdom he put into making things that way.
In a season where we incline more openly towards a relationship with God, is disrespect something we want to inject into that relationship?
“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions—
make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment.
They sold the innocent for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals.
They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor;
they push the destitute away.
A man and his father go to the same girl;
in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.
They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;
they do so right beside every altar!
They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;
they do so right in the temple of their God!
These verses are God's word to Amos about the Israelites and how very much trouble they were in. Remember the verses from last week about fasting, and how we should be focusing on getting close to God, not just on the gaps in our plate? When these verses were written, God's chosen righteous people at the time were not being very righteous at all.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like they were selling people into slavery and oppressing the weak. They were dabbling in other religions and emulating the tax and tribute systems of the pagan nations around them. Today we would probably call that globalism and multiculturalism and have some nice news stories on how they are innovating and disrupting the old ways of doing business. But God calls it what it is: disrespect for his moral purity.
Judas sold the innocent (Jesus) for silver, but that's not exactly what they're getting at here. Have we ever sold the innocent for silver? Have we been unethical in our jobs, turning a blind eye to something wrong, in order to get a promotion, or to keep our jobs, or to keep the company profitable? If so, like the Israelites God is condemning, we have put others in harm's way in order to profit from it.
Selling the needy for a pair of sandals: is that like sneakers made in a sweatshop? Not exactly, but kind of. He's talking about exploiting the poor and weak for a very tiny profit. Do we support sweatshops and massive environmental pollution in order to save a dollar or two on something in the store? It's a self-first strategy of living that God condemns. We should be helping those in need, not taking advantage of their desperation for money to put them in a worse place, especially for something as trivial as cheap consumer goods.
They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor and push the destitute away. This describes a total, numb disregard of the needy. Have you ever pretended not to see someone in need? Cut off a beggar before they could speak? When you're comfortable and are constantly confronted with people who want something from you, it's a natural reaction. But it means your heart has grown cold and calloused. If you have no heart for charity, on some level you are pushing the destitute away, stepping on them rather than over them, by pretending their needs aren't in front of you. You just want to move forward with your day, past them, through them, or over them.
A man and his father are said to go to the same girl. This is supposed to refer to pagan practices of some kind, not sexual immorality per se. But how many detestable practices of our modern society do we go along with, the same as these two generations of father and son did, just because all of our neighbors are supporting it? Gender strife, racial animosity and scapegoating, materialism, sexual immorality, elements of false religions, donkeys and elephants fighting to the death while the neglected children all around cry. You name it. Go to any news site and you will see all of it presented as normal or even desirable. When the man and his father went to the girl mentioned, did it seem any less normal to them than our detestable behavior does to us?
They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral, right beside the altar. Have we ever held a grudge against someone? Even long enough for us to go to church while holding onto it? For a man to give you his clothing as collateral, he has to be in a desperate place. God is condemning someone who holds a man in such crushing debt, and is brazen enough to do it right in church. Is that us when we don't forgive others for their terrible mistakes?
They drink wine with the fines they levied, right in the temple of their God. How do you manage your authority? Here the people in authority raised taxes so much that they had enough money to party with it. Have you been to a church where they push the tithing message every week to the poor congregation while the leadership live in conspicuous luxury? Have you seen government career workers making comfortable mid-six figure salaries "serving" communities with double digit unemployment rates? There's a point where fines become graft, and the people God was condemning were well beyond that line. They had gone so far that they didn't even try to hide it.
Maybe these verses are convicting to you as they are written, or maybe they say something else to you. But as we continue through this time of Lent, take some time to examine yourself. Verses like these, where God is complaining about something Israel did, are often a helpful framework to examine ourselves as well. Have you ever heard someone else getting yelled at for something you had done wrong too? Aren't you glad to have time to fix whatever it is? Aren't you glad it isn't you being yelled at this time?
I picked these verses because they concern charity, and charity is something we often skimp on during our normal day to day lives. But here God spells it out. Charity to others is respect for God's order and his people. He created us to live a certain way, and when we try to cut corners to make a profit for ourselves, it is disrespectful to him and the wisdom he put into making things that way.
In a season where we incline more openly towards a relationship with God, is disrespect something we want to inject into that relationship?
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