Nathan and I are studying in a School of Biblical Studies with Youth with a Mission. We are going through the bible over nine months, with an inductive bible study method.

At the end of each book we have the opportunity to have a "Creative Application" where we creatively express what we learned from the book. I've been wanting to write for some time and this book in particular touched on a nerve, so to say.

We studied the book of Amos this week, a book of prophesy directed to the nation of Israel before they were sent into exile by the Assyrians in 722 BC. The prophesy of Amos calls the Israelites to recognize how empty and showy their worship of God is, especially in light of how they are abusing the poor and needy in their communities.

Some history:

Israel split from Judah and Jerusalem under the reign of Solomon's son, Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the king of the newly formed Israel, decided to erect altars with golden calves so that the people of Israel would not travel to Judah to worship God in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12). Thus, from the beginning of the divided kingdom, what was called Israel worshiped idols and did not follow the covenant God made with their fathers. Amos prophesied during the days of Jeroboam king of Israel and Uzziah king of Judah (Amos 1:1). We know from 2 Kings 14:23-29 that though Jeroboam II was an evil king, God was gracious toward Israel and made them prosper because he "saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel" (2 Kings 14:26).

So in Amos we see that Israel is living in luxury, offering extravagant gifts at their temples (Amos 3:4-5) and living in beautiful homes (5:11). Moreover we find immediately that the Israelites have been abusing the poor and needy in their communities. God says they were selling the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They were trampling the heads of the poor (Amos 2:6-7).

This book is incredibly challenging for me for this reason: Israel thought they were doing well. They thought God was prospering their nation. They thought their extravagant worship was appealing to him, buying his favor. In contrast God says that they should have been grieved over the "ruin of Joseph" (Amos 6:6). They didn't realize that in God's eyes, in reality, they were in ruins because they oppressed the poor. Their opulence and success in battle wasn't because they were doing well but because they were living in ways that made them rich on the backs of the poor. In fact because they were acting so evilly towards the poor, God calls their feasts undesirably, their music like noise. He says: "Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. BUT let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:23-24).

The conviction in my heart is that I believe many in the West - myself as well - have, throughout time, thought that our prosperity is from the hand of God because we have been holy and good. Our luxurious lives are a gift from God, given so that we can make a difference.

But what if the truth is, that at this point, our lives are luxurious simply because they are built on the backs of the poor? 

What if we are the Israelites, lying in our beds of ivory, no weeping over the ruin that God sees?  Isn't that a frightening though?

It doesn't take long to realize the world is not fair. The secular world and the church know it. Our economic system is only possible because the poor are taken advantage of. I highly recommend watching movies like "58:" to get more informed:

http://www.live58.org/thefilm/

The question for me is what can I do about it? I know my jeans were made in Bangladesh and my glasses in China and likely they were stitched together by small hands thankful for a job yet underpaid. What can I do about it? I think a good place to start for the church and for concerned believers is to ask their own hearts and God if they are confident their choices are right.

For me, especially in the world of clothing, I have been overwhelmed to see how much is thrown out for the new. Do we need new wardrobes every season? Do we need to give in to trends that are changed just so corporations can make more money? Do you know the history of clothes making? Not so long ago, things were not like they are now.

I would encourage believers to discover what some have termed "The Tyranny of Trends": http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/the-tyranny-of-trends/

This article especially convicted me on how much value I place on my clothing and really what has happened to the clothing industry over the last 1oo years:
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/the-history-of-a-cheap-dress/

 Sometime last year I frequented a Salvation Army near to our new city home. For a small town girl like me, whose only boutique experience was the MCC thrift shop in town (we do call it "the boutique"), this was the most familiar for-fun shopping center I could relate to. What shocked me however, was the amount of EVERYTHING in there. Much to the constant and unabashed surprise of my husband, I would always find something beautiful and useful there. I love to thrift - it's in my blood.

One of the most interesting parts of the thrift shop for me was the jean section. Oh, the elusive jean pant, where all your dreams come true!I think there were four long stretches of jean racks, reaching the length of the store. Why? Because you and I have bitten the bait that jeans will do it all for us. When we buy a pair, we drop sometimes 50... sometimes 100 bucks... on a pair hoping that this will be it. So many discarded jeans, so many unfulfilled dreams, made it to that one Salvation Army. The things was, I couldn't help but find 4 or 5 designer pairs that fit me perfectly each time.

Why am I talking about jeans so much you ask? Because in that moment, when I looked at over a thousand pairs of blue cotton woven into a promising golden hope, I realize what our society believed. We needed new, more, better, best and when it wasn't perfect, we needed to repeat. The jeans section of that Salvation Army was an allegory, telling a deep and broken story of a society in ruins.

I would encourage all of you to take a step back from your life right now and question if  there is any way you give your participation in this society of abuse for the sake of prosperity and if it is something you want to be a part of. Are there creative ways for you to change how you live so that your choices are ones you can be proud of?

For me, I am considering never walking into another department store or mall again with the intent of buying something. I am just too tired of seeing perfectly good and beautiful clothing in second hand stores, which beautifully enough generally support local or international missions or projects. I am happy keeping my wardrobe full of previously owned but lovely clothing which when purchased supports my community or overseas missions rather than corporations. Its a small choice, and can hardly change the world but it is a step. I want to model conscious choices. That's what I can do. What can you?

I like this - Jon Foreman's song based on Amos 5:21-24: