“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion!” Amos 6 continues the theme of rebuking the nation of Israel for complacency towards the judgement of God while they exploit others for their own gain. But now God speaks particularly to the ‘upper class’ - those who enjoy wealth and luxury and have benefitted most from the military and political success of Israel at this time. And God says they have their head in the sand. 

“You lie on beds adorned with ivory… lounge on your couches… dine on choice lambs… strum away on your harps… drink wine by the bowlful…” But these people have ‘brought near a reign of terror’ and ‘will be among the first to go into exile.’ God has decreed judgement and ignoring it is not going to help - and continuing to indulge at the expense of others is certainly not going to help!

 

The last thing we want to do is become complacent about sin. And whilst many of us wouldn’t see ourselves as those at the top of the social and economic ladder, we can still be complacent about benefitting from the exploitation of others to prop up our own lifestyles. I think there’s a reason ‘simplicity’ of lifestyle has always been a Christian virtue. Some even see it as a spiritual discipline - you deliberately pursue a life of simplicity in possessions, clothing, eating etc… to train your heart to value righteousness over indulgence. We want to be people who ‘grieve over the ruin of joseph’ (i.e. the spiritual corruption of God’s people) more than lack of the things we want. In a way, we have an opportunity right now don’t we? The world is shutting down and we are encouraging to stay in. People around us are panic buying and securing what they want for themselves. And we have an opportunity to practice simplicity and contentment. Let’s be deliberate about using the current crisis to learn simplicity and contentment, as we pray against complacency in our hearts and minds.