As I write at my desk it is the aftermath of the Federal Government’s Budget 2015 and debate is in full swing. Commentator after commentator is examining every aspect of the government’s plan for fiscal management over the next year or so. The common question being asked is – “what is in it for me? How better off will I be?” This self-centered attitude of our nation is starting to really annoy me. Greed at every level of society has become the norm for today. Our insatiable appetite for more and more, regardless of the cost and regardless of the debt it places our nation in for generations to come, is reckless and naïve. Yet nothing seems to halt our march for quenching this unquenchable appetite for more and more.
Our nation is listed as one of the most prosperous nations on the face of the earth. Yet, as each day passes we are becoming more and more secular and Godless. Greed has become the great ‘god’ of Australia! The Living God has no place in our society. You are shunned when you mention His name and called a ‘fundamentalist’ when speaking of Jesus. Jesus was right on the mark when He said that man cannot serve God and money. This was the case for Israel in the time of Amos. They were at their peak in wealth. Nothing was more important to them than being successful and rich. They had become a powerful nation too. With wealth and power comes self-dependence. God becomes distant and unimportant. How true this was for the Jews and sadly how true this is for our nation today.
Amos was sent by God to deliver a warning to these complacent and proud people. In fact, he came with a message of judgement. Whilst they placed all their hope and trust in their wealth and power, they were unprepared for what God thought of them. He was going to bring them to account and let them know the harsh reality as to whom was really in control. Amos 3 is a fascinating, and in some ways, a haunting read. Here we see a proud and self-dependent nation in the hands of a righteous, and dare I say it, in the hands of an angry God. Our nation needs to hear this message of Amos delivered to Israel. Perhaps it is best that it starts with us because I believe we are flirting with danger when it comes to our attitude of money and success. Time for a wake-up call to place us back on that narrow path that Jesus says leads to life – eternal life!