Monday, July 18, 2011

Beware of false security.

"Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!" (Amos 6:1)

There were many in the day of Amos, as there are in ours, who were content to trust in outward prosperity and in the glamour of their places of worship. Amos said they were "complacent in Zion." He said they felt “secure on Mount Samaria”. Amos was preaching to the notable leaders of God’s people concerning the security they felt in the trappings of outwardly signs of piety. And this made them complacent.

But it was false security. They were effectively trusting in their own sufficiency and not in God.

And then the real issue is brought clearly into focus by this phrase "you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.” (Amos 6:6) In Amos’ day this charge meant that the leaders of Israel were unconcerned about the fate of the majority who did not share in their prosperity.
God was concerned about the plight of the poor. His heart was broken by their sad circumstances. But the hearts of the leaders were unmoved. They were out of "sync" with the heart of God.

Our complacency may mean that we are simply not shaken by what we believe.
We all have to answer these questions: Are our hearts in "sync" with the heart of God? Are we moved by the things that move him? Are we, his Church, a people who care about the things God cares about? Is his passion, our passion?

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