Is it easier to be a proclaimer of God’s truth in prosperity or in tough times? The answer is probably this: “Neither is easier. They’re just different.”
On the prosperity side, maybe you don’t have to struggle for the basic needs of life. You live comfortably. You may not face outright physical persecution. The enemy of the faith can be sneakier, and within – within our own country, our own churches, our own selves.
Amos was a prophet who ministered during a prosperous time in the history of God’s Old Testament people. Yes, the Kingdom had divided into north (Israel) and south (Judah), but both territories were doing well. He looked around him and saw people – especially the leadership – lounging on couches, dining on choice foods, strumming away on musical instruments, and drinking wine by the bowlful. They were complacent and living a decadent life. The worst attitude was that of . . . . not grieving over the ruin of Joseph (Amos 6:6). Their country and people were going down the tubes, and they didn’t care!
So, Amos invites them to look around at other great cities around them – Kalneh, Hamath, and Gath – and make a comparison. Israel and Judah were prospering, but were they any better than these other cities spiritually? Could they not fall just like any other nation had?
Christians are often saddened by the spiritual state of our country. Are we doing any better than countries around us, especially those we might have considered “less godly” at one point? We have prosperity that was unthinkable in the past. Is it possible that our own nation could lose that? These are uncomfortable questions, but ones Amos leads us to ask.
It starts with us. Do we fall into spiritual complacency? Is our passion the same as that of Christ who came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10)? Let’s be renewed and refreshed in God’s grace in Christ! We have a God who sought us out and redeemed us. We are sent to spread the light of our Savior. We are called to be active in having conversations about our faith and engaging our neighbors, children and friends with the eternal Word of God. We do grieve any spiritual decline, and we’re not complacent. We are messengers of gospel hope who trust that God will bless his Word.
You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. (Amos 6:6)