AMOS 3:9-12 GIFTED BUT NOT PRIVILEGED

9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt: “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people.”

10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the LORD, “who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses.” 11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “An enemy will overrun the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.” 12 This is what the LORD says: “As a shepherd saves from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites be saved, those who sit in Samaria on the edge of their beds and in Damascus on their couches.”

What a nightmare! You are at the top of your game and everything is going great. God’s blessings are obviously upon you and you rest secure in knowing that you are his chosen one. Your enemies are his enemies and you distain them in their decadence and rebellion. Then into your dream intrudes a jury, not of your peers, for you have no peers, but rather a tribunal of your enemies; the very people you condemned as totally depraved. And who is it that called them as your judges but God himself.

The sin of pride is pernicious and especially dangerous for those who have received much. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, we read that it was the most glorious and powerful of the angels who rebelled against God. In Genesis, it was the unified and able men who through pride decided to construct a tower to God (11:1-4). In Daniel, it was King Nebuchadnezzar who in the midst of reveling in his royal power was reduced to a donkey feeding on grass (4:25-33). In Acts, it was Herod, King of Judah, as he was receiving accolades as a god, who was struck down by an angel of God (12:21-23).

According to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, the privilege of being a citizen of the kingdom of God is to result in humility rather than pride. The correct response to the unwarranted grace of God in our lives is the humble acknowledgement of just how dependent we are upon God and his love for us. When we look at others, those who as yet do not believe, or those who have lost their way, our response is to be that of mourning and not self-righteous anger.

Every time we hear a person outside the Church talk about how the behavior and attitude of “church people” turn them away from God or his body the Church, we are living the nightmare of Israel as articulated in the prophesy of Amos. Let us take their words of witness to heart and mend our ways so that we can answer their indictment before it gets to the judgment seat of God.

May I, O Lord, always be cognizant of your grace and mercy to me and express my gratitude by sharing that mercy and grace with all others. I am naturally competitive and have a penchant for measuring myself against others. Cure me of my selfish pride and replace it with your heart for the lost. Amen.