The plumb line day3

It takes chutzpah to do what Amos did. He delivered a message that he knew would be unpopular, and he delivered it with prophetic force. He called the people back to the way things were supposed to be from the very beginning.

God’s dream has always been for a community of people who can relate to one another correctly, and that means demonstrating compassion. Throughout the centuries, however, some of God’s people have demonstrated a remarkable ability to receive acceptance and grace from God while doling out immense portions of rejection and condemnation to their fellow humans.

We’re supposed to be kind, but we’re often among the most hurtful and apathetic people around. The need for justice in our society is unfortunately far greater than is found in most Christian circles.

Amos railed against the people of Israel who cared more about their own comfort than they did about others. He made no bones about it, using intentionally inflammatory language. In our day, we prefer a more diplomatic approach.

Now, there’s a time for diplomacy. There is a time to be tactful. But there is also a time to stand up and call people to stop going in the wrong direction. Amos was a simple man standing firm in the face of fierce opposition. We could use more folks like that, people willing to deliver unpopular messages with such boldness. Unfortunately, Christians who are most willing to deliver hard words are often sorely lacking in compassion. In fact, there are some who willingly volunteer to be the stick God uses to smack people with.

The reason the way we deliver the message is so important is because how the message is delivered is part of the message itself. God’s message, especially here through Amos, is fierce but it’s really a message of compassion. Amos brings a sharp rebuke, but it’s a rebuke directed toward a people who have failed to look after one another, to care for one another, to make sure no one goes hungry and no one is lonely, to bring orphans into families and make sure widows aren’t being taken advantage of.

It would be terrible for the message of compassion to be negated by the lack of a compassionate messenger.

And yet that is precisely what happens all too often.

Somehow, we must strike that delicate balance between boldly stating our convictions and gently offering compassion to those who are most in need of hearing them. It will be tricky, but maybe you could start right now by asking God for a little chutzpah and a little gentleness at the same time.

 

Dear Lord, in the prophets and apostles whose words are recorded in Scripture, and most fully and clearly in Your incarnate Son’s earthly ministry, You have perfectly balanced the combination of truth and love. I also want to speak Your truth to my generation and to do so in a gracious and loving manner. Keep me from the poles of cold orthodoxy and warm sentimentality. I ask for the courage to be forthright and honest when it is needed and for the compassion to consider the needs of others before my own. In Your way and through Your guidance, may I become a source of blessing to people who are in need, and may I be increasingly concerned about the plight of the lost, the last and the least.

In Jesus’s  name, Amen