"There's a person behind the hand on the other side of your coffee cup. A person! Do you see them?"
This past weekend, I heard these words from
Pastor Paul Scanlon. He was talking about the importance of truly caring for people. (Check out his book "The 15 Revolution" via the link above for more on that.)
When I read today's passage, Pastor Paul's message came to mind. Through the prophet Amos, God describes His disappointment in nations that have disregarded Him. Here's how He described His own people--the people of Israel and their view of people:
People for them are only things—
ways of making money.
They'd sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.
They'd sell their own grandmother!
They grind the penniless into the dirt,
shove the luckless into the ditch.
Everyone and his brother sleeps with the 'sacred whore'—
a sacrilege against my Holy Name.
Stuff they've extorted from the poor is piled up at the shrine of their god,
While they sit around drinking wine they've conned from their victims.
"In contrast, I was always on your side..."
It's interesting in this passage to see how Israel's treatment of people--particularly the vulnerable and less fortunate of society--was a reflection of their treatment toward God. They dismissed God and they totally dismissed the people He created. They were selfish and sacrilegious--giving idols items stolen from people--real people--God's people.
It doesn't seem to make any sense! However, I think this passage illustrates that when our views of God are off track, our views of people and things are warped, too. If we love God, we love the people He made and died for. Money and things can't top human lives created in God's image. When we really love God, we stop allowing idols to drive our actions. We live to love God and people more than ourselves or our things.
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