In the Words of Amos

I have recently been blessed to make contact with an online magazine called Amosmag.com and have  agreed to become a writer for the site. I am so excited! The Editor-in-chief, Michelle Railey seems to have a clear vision and provides excellent feedback on my work. For me, this has been an answer to prayer.

As I'm just getting my feet wet, I haven't had any in-depth conversations about the origin of the name of the site, or the original reason for its existence, right now I'm just happy for the space to put original content, but I'm sure that conversation will happen as time permits. In the mean time, I have done what I always do and that's to turn to my Bible. So, I've started reading (drum roll please), the book of Amos. I know, for those of you who have been following for awhile, this probably comes as a great surprise. Let me say though, that the name Amos really jumped out at me as being important.Maybe I'm crazy, but, to the book of Amos I went.

Full transparency, Amos is not a biblical text that I've spent a great deal of time in. I hate admitting that, but its true. The first chapter is really hard to consume because of the negative tone and the repetitive nature and putting all of the places in context for their wrongs against God. For me, it felt like eating a big bowl of green peas. Of course peas are good for me, of course I should include them in my diet, but, I just don't love them the way I do say pasta or pizza or ice cream. But, like a good boy, I kept on, and I'm glad I did.

In chapter two and beyond, Amos gets to the part that speaks to me. Starting in verse 6 which he titles, Judgment on Israel, Amos begins listing the crimes of the Israelite's against God and God's unfavorable response to these crimes. He begins speaking about their treatment of the poor saying, "because they sell righteousness for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals--those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted;" Throughout the next 4 chapters, Amos reiterates how angry God is at the Israelite's because of their treatment of the poor.

Here's some context for Amos' writing. There isn't an exact time frame for Amos' life, but it came before the fall of Israel into Assyrian capture, sometime between 800 and 700 BC. Israel was in the midst of financial prosperity and were preparing themselves for the Lord to come and to make Israel the leading nation of the world. God's plans were opposite. He sent Amos to warn his people that he would not keep them from harm should it come. He was dissatisfied with how Israel had acquired its prosperity by its horrible treatment of the poor and the needy.

Worldbank.org estimates that as of 2013, 10.7 percent of the world lives on less than $1.90 per day. While that's down drastically from the 35 percent it showed in 1990, that percentage still includes approximately 767 million people worldwide, or for context, more than double the entire population of the United States. By comparison, Huffington Post cited figures from the 2013 census bureau that 14.5 percent of Americans live below the poverty line. That means that poverty is greater by percentage in the United States than the rest of the world.

In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." In Luke chapter 6, it says that, "Jesus looked at his disciples and said, 'Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God.'"

In Mark chapter 10 verse 17 a wealthy man came to Jesus calling him teacher and asked how he could inherit eternal life. The man then told Jesus that he had kept the ten commandments since he was a boy. It says that Jesus loved him. (Of course he did, he's Jesus. You don't have to read long to see that his very existence is love). Then, Jesus commanded him to sell everything he had to give to the poor and he would have treasure in heaven. Then he told him to come and follow him. The man was sad because he had no intention of doing what Jesus had commanded him.

Jesus goes on to boldly condemn the wealthy and explain how difficult it would be for the wealthy to enter heaven, but how greatly rewarded those would be who would give up everything to follow him.

In fact, the Bible mentions the responsibility of caring for the poor on over 300 occasions. By contrast, the mention of homosexuality is seven...And never by Jesus. (Think of this in the context of American politics as it pertains to the Church).

Let's take a breath because there is a lot of information to get to, and a lot to clear up.

What is the point that Jesus is making in telling the man to sell all of his possessions, give everything to the poor, and follow him?

Let me be clear, it is not sinful to have money. It is no sin to have a lot of money. It is no sin to live comfortably. But Jesus wants our entire being. He wants every part of us. He wants to be the Lord of our entire life. He wanted this man to give his entire self over to Jesus, but the man was unwilling to give his wealth. He is also making the point that we did not create ourselves and cannot save ourselves.  And lastly, that earthly wealth has no bearing on  eternal life. God created us and through Jesus we are saved.

The man was sad because he was unwilling to give his all to Jesus. Had he continued listening he would have heard the payoff, that Jesus would prepare a place for him 100 times greater than what he had sacrificed to follow Jesus. For those with a financial background, a 100 fold return on any investment is a pretty good deal!

In our Declaration of Independence, when we announced to the world, and specifically to the King of England, that the United States was to be a free nation, we included the phrase, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal." (Men being used to describe humanity). Jesus wants to make the same point. Humanity is God's greatest creation and God has created all man, equally. Unfortunately, the Bible also states that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Another way to say that would be that greed is at the root of all evil.

God values each of us the same. That's despite our IQ, our last name, our nationality, our gender, our height, and the amount of money in our bank account. And it is wrong for us to use and mistreat our fellow man in our attempt to achieve. God told the Israelite's through Amos that he would not bless their prosperity because of how poorly they had treated the poor and needy in acquiring that wealth. He is telling us the same thing today.

As Christians, we aren't called to be Republicans or Democrats. We aren't called to be conservative or liberal. Our Christianity isn't determined by the state we live in, the politician we support, or the job we do. We should never curse the state for providing the welfare that should be provided by the church. We should never celebrate when those less fortunate than us are stripped of their ability to receive healthcare. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 26 that the poor will be among us always, but that shouldn't cause us to relax, it should ignite us with compassion as we develop better systems to assist. We should never turn a blind eye when we see a person in need. We should only rejoice that we have to means to help.

Why should we do this?

Mother Thersea was famously quoted as saying, "Everyone that we meet is Jesus in disguise." Where did she get that quote? In Matthew chapter 25 starting in verse 35 it says, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." The response comes from the righteous, when did we do these things? The King replies, "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me."

We are called to give ourselves over completely to follow Jesus. And what does Jesus say? Blessed are the poor. In this country, I fear that the Church has failed to honor those words.