- Image: a broken mirror with most of the pieces missing.
- Maybe do the image as a drawing on a piece of butcher paper, with four of the ten pieces colored in blue to look like a mirror.
- Discuss how little of yourself you would know if you had such a limited mirror. We look at ourselves and like what we see and don’t want to see anything further.
WHEN WE ASK GOD TO GO AWAY: We become less concerned about “is it true?” and more about “does it hurt?”
- Amos 7:10-17.
- John 11:48.
- Unpack the passage on this point.
- v. 10 – Amaziah accuses Amos of conspiracy. That conspiracy amounted to the troubling factor that Amos was telling the truth about the corruption and sin of the political and priestly powers in Israel. He also poignantly says that they cannot bear Amos’ words. That’s a telling testament to how heavy they found his words.
- v. 11 – Amos’ message was, granted, a tough one.
- v. 12 – Amaziah wants him gone.
- Was the priest angry because he was convicted? Or did he even get convicted?
- I tend to think he didn’t even get convicted. There was no thoughtful consideration of Amos’ words – just immediate rejection because it would mean the upending of everything he held dear. See v. 12.
- It might be comparable to some of the events of 2020. We reject out of hand the thought that any of it might lead to the end of America or even American prosperity. Why? Because we are so closely tied into that system that we can hardly imagine ourselves outside of it, even though the system is in many ways corrupt.
- It’s not a logical thought – it’s more of a guttural hope or cry. We have too much to lose if it’s true.
- We usually don’t care much if something is true when it cuts against what we want to believe.
- In that moment, the only thing we are usually concerned about is “does it hurt?” When the answer is yes, we want it away from us as quickly as possible.
- We saw this with Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees. In particular, John 11:48 stands out. There the Pharisees declare that if things keep going the way they have been, they are going to lose “our place and our nation.” It’s clearly a cry that they are scared that Jesus is going to cost them the power they love so much. They aren’t (with a few exceptions) thinking about whether Jesus’ claims add up – they are strongly rejecting Him because His ascension threatens their power.
- We are like them.
- In this passage, we essentially see the priest of God asking God to go away. Amaziah rejects God’s prophet and wants him gone. Think of that – the prophet of God wanting to send the message of God away.
- Do we do that? Do we reject the message of God and try to send God away because it threatens our power and position?
WHY THIS IS DANGEROUS: A prophetic warning is often given with the goal of repentance before it’s too late.
- Amos 7:11, 16-17.
- There are times when God shares a prophetic warning simply to let the hearers know what’s coming even though there is no way to avoid it. More often, though, God shares a prophetic message with the hope of a change of heart among the hearers.
- God wants repentance.
- If we reject the message out of hand, it ensures that we will not repent.
- We dislike the idea of repentance because we just want our sin to be justified by God, but God calls us to lay aside our sin.
- v. 11 shows Amaziah complaining about the message of Amos.
- v. 16 gives us God’s message to Amos to continue preaching the truth.
- v. 17 shares God’s response to the hardheartedness of the leaders of Israel. Exile is coming.
A STEP TOWARD GREATER CLOSENESS WITH GOD: Wanting Him more than our power and position.
- Amos 7:10, 12-13.
- v. 10 speaks to the threat to their power.
- v. 12 indicates the desire to just get rid of Amos.
- v. 13 points to their power claims – they let Amos know that this is their sanctuary and temple, not his.
- What are some scenarios today where something like this could happen?
a. American prosperity.
- What if signs started to point toward economic devastation because of our sin? Would we face up to that sin or just beg for our prosperity back?
b. The American church.
- If obvious fruitlessness and cultural obscurity dramatically increased, would we seek God to see where we got off-track or would we just double-down on our attempts to grasp power? Would we just want to hold onto the comfortable and familiar church traditions?
c. African-American communities.
- Would we humbly acknowledge the indifference of the white church to the injustices toward African-Americans or chafe at the threat to our comfortable society structure?
d. Capitalism.
- Are there excesses of pursuing material consumption as the goal of life that we need to correct?
e. Climate change.
- Does combating climate change demand too radical a change for our lifestyles?
f. Global poverty.
- We like being able to buy cheap stuff. What substantial changes might be necessary if I chose to care about the poor in other countries who are exploited to make that cheap stuff?
g. Abortion.
- It’s too painful to comprehend the enormity of that many deaths so we say we’re against abortion without thinking about the actual size of the problem.
- Also, this could be true with personal situations as well.
a. Middle class lifestyle.
- I am comfortable with my middle class lifestyle and automatically reject any thought that it could be interrupted.
b. Parenting.
- The thought that God might have particular goals in mind for my parenting and that they are not what I want is blocked out. For instance, I may just want “the kids to be happy” while God wants them to pursue Christ.
c. Workplace.
- I have a particular place and position at work and reject anything that might infringe upon that.
d. Spiritual immaturity.
- I am content with a comfortable, shallow, Sunday-morning religious life and not interested in going deeper into unexplored realms.
NEXT STEP: When a statement hurts, look for a grain of truth.
- Amos 7:14-15.
- It’s worth asking: is there some truth to what the person is saying?
- Perhaps their presentation was coarse or their character is dubious, but, nonetheless, I need to consider whether there is something there worth working on.
- Truth is important for growth. But truth usually hurts a little at first, which is why we frequently reject it. But we need to ponder whether there is something there worth holding onto.
- Maybe everything the person says is true. Maybe much of it is embellished but there is something there worth pondering.
- Amos’ response (vv. 14-15) emphasizes that he isn’t doing this as part of a career path or because he enjoys doing it. He was a shepherd and had no aspirations to ministry.
- Pay special attention to the person speaking truth that’s not in their self-interest.
- It’s not guaranteed to be true, but it’s far more likely to be.
- We all have a tendency to see what is true though the lens of what we want to be true. Because of that, we may reject out of hand truth that will cost us too much.
- Was it Upton Sinclair who said something like: it’s awfully hard to get a man to see something when his paycheck depends on him not seeing it.
