Read 1 Kings 20, Amos 6, and 2 Peter 1.
This devotional is about Amos 6.
A stable life is a peaceful life but, if we’re not careful, it can become a complacent life.
Complacency, to me, is very similar to laziness. It is a satisfaction with life that causes someone to quit striving for excellence. This is the attitude that the Lord, through Amos, addressed here in Amos 6.
Verse 1 tells us that this is directed to two groups of people—those “in Zion” which was Jerusalem, the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judah and “on Mount Samaria” which was the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Who lives in these places? “Notable men” as verse 1 calls them live there; in other words, this is a prophecy directed to the leadership (aka “the government”) of both nations.
Verses 4-7 describe the life of leisure these people have. They “lie on beds adorned with ivory and lounge on your couches” (v. 4a). They “dine on choice lambs and fattened calves” (v. 4b). They “strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments” (v. 5). they “drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions” (v. 6).
Sounds like a nice life, don’t you think? God didn’t think so because he said: “But you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.” That was a reference to the spiritual decline of the nation.
This is one reason why materialism is so dangerous to spiritual growth. When you have everything you want, it is easy to believe that God is not important.
Our struggles may be painful, but they keep us dependent on Christ. If it has been a good year for you financially, how’s your walk with God going? If your life is placid and relatively problem free, have you started to dabble in sin or slack off on your church attendance?
If you have become complacent spiritually–or in any other way in your life–what would be a good way to respond to the teaching and rebuke in this passage of scripture?