Amos: 6:8-14.
The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor the pride of Jacob
and detest his fortresses;
I will deliver up the city
and everything in it.”
9 If ten people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them[a] asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash the great house into pieces
and the small house into bits.
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea[b] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[c]
and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[d] by our own strength?”
14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath to the valley of the Arabah.”
The Lord has no time for pride and self-grandeur/arrogance. His heart if we haven’t already worked out is for justice and righteousness. He has no time for those who claim they are His, that He is their God but give little thought and action for justice and righteousness. His words and actions, from One who is slow to anger, should be a wake up call for us all. Are we pursuing justice and righteousness? Are we inviting God into all of our lives? Who do we bank with, do we know the ethics of the bank our money is with? Do we think about the people making our clothes, of where the clothes we throw out end up? Do we consider the food chain in shopping both in terms of labourers and creation care? Holiday destinations? Jewellery? Chocolate? The cleaning products and creation care? The list goes on and on. We do not live in isolation, either to the people around us or those who are further away both in this country or on the other side of the globe?
Each of us have our own journey with God, have good works He had prepared for us. But we do not become individual brides of Christ, we who are in Christ are one united bride of Christ, one body, one spirit. It is overwhelming to change everything at once but as we pray through this passage maybe there is something in the list mentioned or something else that one could consider acting on. God knows we cannot change to world on our own, hence he calls us into relationship, into church. He does know our actions, intentions and what we are doing even if it seems to be making no difference or no one else knows. He knows the systems we are working in and with. One recent area for us was in working through the house buying process and mortgage applications. When we raised the question of ethics we were laughed at. It’s all about making money, best deal for the individual. There was no wider framework that allowed a wider circle on care, consideration to be considered.
Father from whom all mercy, love and compassion comes from, enlarge in us our hearts and minds for justice and mercy. In Jesus name we pray.
Joshua's Tree Rooted 