Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan
who are on the
hill of Samaria,women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,
who say to their husbands,
“Bring us something to drink."
Wait, what? Did God just send a message down from heaven that included calling his people “cows?” Oh yeah. He did.
Have you ever noticed that
there are tons of ways to insult people by simply referring to them as some
kind of animal? Dog. Chicken. Pig.
Snake. Ape. I don’t think being called a
“cow” in Amos’ day probably felt any better than it does in ours. And yes, I think God knew that and said it
anyway. Step back.
What Amos is saying here is
that, according to God, His people had become so near-sighted, and their
priorities had gotten so screwy, that they had become concerned only with
themselves. “Forget the poor and needy,
and even forget the needs and purpose of my own family; I want some fun, and I want it now,”
is essentially the mantra of the people he’s talking to and about. They wanted self-fulfillment and personal
entertainment at any cost. And that
disgusted God.
Our lives are not our
own. We have been purchased at a high
price – the blood of Jesus Himself rescued
us from the enslavement of self-worship.
God did not save us so that we could be Real Housewives. He saved us so that we could be His active hands
and feet in a lost, broken and hurting world.
Look around: there are tons of people whose paths cross yours
everyday. How could you be serving
them? How could you be reaching
out? How can you step outside of
yourself today to be a walking, breathing example of the sacrificial love of
Christ?
Father, we pray You would stir Your Holy Spirit in us
to desire to love others more than we love ourselves. We thank You that Your Son Jesus came to actively
love us and sacrifice for us, even when it was difficult, and we pray for
strength to follow Him in obedience and likeness. Please allow Candeo to become a church marked
by a level of service, submission and sacrifice that can only be found in
modeling Your character. Amen.
