Preachers usually take time to pray over our sermons because we want to make certain we are hearing the Word of God accurately. We want to clearly convey that Word to our listeners.<\/p>\n
So imagine if in your prayerful preparation the Holy Spirit tells you to stand up and call women in your congregation \u201ccows.\u201d Suppose you preached to them: \u201cYou cows who do nothing but graze and eat at the expense of others.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I can tell you that several things will occur if you say that! One, everyone will be awake and will be ready to get up and leave, especially the women! Two, if you\u2019re the pastor, you might want to think about where your next job will be. Three, you can expect a call from your conference bishop. (And those reading this can probably add additional responses!)<\/p>\n Strangely enough, that is exactly what God told the Israelite prophet Amos to say. He says in Amos 4:1: \u201cHear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, \u2018Bring wine, let us drink!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Amos was a sheep breeder in the northern kingdom called Israel (sometimes referred to as Samaria or Ephraim in the prophets). Like his contemporary Hosea, who was also in the northern kingdom, and his contemporary Isaiah, who preached in Judah, Amos saw the injustice and perversion of worship that corrupted the people of God. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Here are some of the prophetic warnings and judgments that Amos preached to Israel:<\/p>\n 1.<\/b> <\/b>Israel abused the poor and engaged in rampant sexual immorality (Amos 2:6, 7)<\/p>\n 2.<\/b> <\/b>Israel commanded God\u2019s prophets to stop prophesying (2:12)<\/p>\n 3.<\/b> <\/b>Israel set up idolatrous worship in Bethel and Gilgal (3:14)<\/p>\n 4.<\/b> <\/b>Israel thought that \u201cthe day of the Lord\u201d would mean that God would judge the nations, not realizing the judgment was upon her (5:18-20)<\/p>\n 5.<\/b> <\/b>Israel let her worship music take the place of just and righteous actions (5:23, 24).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Look again at Amos 4:1 and see the audacity of calling out the wives of the rich and famous in Israel. Their husbands practiced the oppression of the poor that led to the wealth and privilege these women enjoyed in their finery. It did not matter to them who suffered at their expense, as long as they had their fill of the best things in life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lest anyone reading this think that Amos, or I, are picking on women, that is not the case. The men and women were all responsible for the corruption in the land. Amos addressed them because the comfortable women thought they had no role, no guilt and no responsibility for the corruption that was destroying their land. They had a sense of privilege but no sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n Privilege. It\u2019s a loaded word today in our social and political discourse. The New King James Version does not use this word. But the reality is present.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You can see it in 1 Kings 21, where the Israelite king Ahab uses his status and privilege to murder Naboth and steal his property. You can see it in the life of Judah\u2019s king, David, who takes another man\u2019s wife as his own and then arranges the murder of the man to cover his own sin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You can see it in Acts 5, where Ananias and Sapphira hold back part of the proceeds of the sale of property rather than give the previously declared total. You see it in 3 John 9, where a man in the church named Diotrephes \u201cloves to have the preeminence.\u201d In the 3 John passage, preeminence literally means \u201cloves to be first.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That sort of makes me nervous when I realize that!<\/p>\n The issue is not whether there is privilege for some people; there clearly is. Privilege gets you into certain universities, gets you certain jobs and gets you invited to certain parties. If you remove privilege from one group of people, you simply move it to another group. There will always be privilege.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many of us as followers of Jesus have privileges of wealth, security and opportunity of which we are not even conscious. In many instances, those are the result of hard work, diligence and the blessings of God. So the issue is not whether or not we may have certain privileges. Rather, the issue is our awareness of justice, mercy, and responsibility related to those privileges.<\/p>\n If my privilege has come at the expense of others, as was the case with Amos\u2019 \u201ccows of Bashan,\u201d then we have a responsibility to be aware of injustice. This is not because of any political philosophy, laws or commentators. It is because God has placed His church in the world to be a light to the nations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is also because of \u201cthe law of love\u201d mentioned in Romans 13:8 and 10 and Galatians 5:14. Writing to the capital of the Roman Empire, the privileged city of Rome, Paul reminded Christians there that \u201clove does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law\u201d (13:10). We must care about those who are oppressed, not just ourselves.<\/p>\n This year the IPHC has been reflecting on the importance of justice. We do not view this core value from the political spectrums of our day, though we can certainly have open yet critical minds to learn. Rather, we view justice from the standpoint that God in Christ has called us as followers of Jesus to be witnesses to God\u2019s plan of redeeming this lost world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You and I may have privilege, but we do not use our blessings to oppress others. We live justly and responsibly before others as a witness to the glory of the God. We are indeed privileged with the \u201criches of glory in Christ Jesus,\u201d riches and privilege that enable us to care that \u201cjustice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream\u201d (Amos 5:24).\u00a0<\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Originally\u00a0published in Encourage<\/a>\u00a0magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":4186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,610],"tags":[108,149,58,572],"class_list":{"0":"post-4185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bishops-blog","8":"category-justice","9":"tag-bishop-doug-beacham","10":"tag-encourage-magazine","11":"tag-iphc","12":"tag-justice","13":"entry"},"title_es":"No evite el llamado de Dios a preocuparse por la justicia","content_es":"Los predicadores generalmente toman tiempo para orar por nuestros sermones porque queremos asegurarnos de que estamos escuchando la Palabra de Dios con precisi\u00f3n. Queremos transmitir claramente esa Palabra a nuestros oyentes. As\u00ed que imag\u00ednense si en su preparaci\u00f3n de oraci\u00f3n el Esp\u00edritu Santo les dice que se pongan de pie y llamen a las mujeres de su congregaci\u00f3n \u201cvacas\u201d. Supongamos que les predica: \u201cUstedes vacas que no hacen m\u00e1s que pastar y comer a expensas de los dem\u00e1s\u201d. \u00a0<\/span> \u00a1Puedo decirte que ocurrir\u00e1n varias cosas si dices eso! Uno, todos estar\u00e1n despiertos y estar\u00e1n listos para levantarse e irse, \u00a1especialmente las mujeres! Dos, si usted es el pastor, es posible que desee pensar en d\u00f3nde ser\u00e1 su pr\u00f3ximo trabajo. Tres, puede esperar una llamada de su obispo de la conferencia. (\u00a1Y quienes lean esto probablemente puedan agregar respuestas adicionales!) Curiosamente, eso es exactamente lo que Dios le dijo al profeta israelita Am\u00f3s que dijera. \u00c9l dice en Am\u00f3s 4: 1: \u201cEscuchen esta palabra, vacas de Bas\u00e1n, que est\u00e1n en la monta\u00f1a de Samaria, que oprimen a los pobres, que aplastan a los necesitados, que dicen a sus esposos: '\u00a1Traigan vino, bebamos! '\u201dAm\u00f3s era un criador de ovejas en el reino del norte llamado Israel (a veces conocido como Samaria o Efra\u00edn en los profetas). Al igual que su Oseas contempor\u00e1neo, que tambi\u00e9n estaba en el reino del norte, y su Isa\u00edas contempor\u00e1neo, que predic\u00f3 en Jud\u00e1, Am\u00f3s vio la injusticia y la perversi\u00f3n de la adoraci\u00f3n que corrompi\u00f3 al pueblo de Dios. \u00a0<\/span> Estas son algunas de las advertencias y juicios prof\u00e9ticos que Am\u00f3s predic\u00f3 a Israel: 1.<\/b> <\/b> Israel abus\u00f3 de los pobres y se involucr\u00f3 en una inmoralidad sexual desenfrenada (Am\u00f3s 2: 6, 7) 2.<\/b> <\/b> Israel orden\u00f3 a los profetas de Dios que dejaran de profetizar (2:12) 3.<\/b> <\/b> Israel estableci\u00f3 adoraci\u00f3n id\u00f3latra en Betel y Gilgal (3:14) 4.<\/b> <\/b> Israel pens\u00f3 que "el d\u00eda del Se\u00f1or" significar\u00eda que Dios juzgar\u00eda a las naciones, sin darse cuenta de que el juicio estaba sobre ella (5: 18-20) 5.<\/b> <\/b> Israel dej\u00f3 que su m\u00fasica de adoraci\u00f3n tomara el lugar de las acciones justas y justas (5:23, 24). \u00a0<\/span> Mire nuevamente a Am\u00f3s 4: 1 y vea la audacia de llamar a las esposas de los ricos y famosos en Israel. Sus maridos practicaban la opresi\u00f3n de los pobres que les llev\u00f3 a la riqueza y al privilegio que estas mujeres disfrutaban en sus galas. No les importaba qui\u00e9n sufriera a su costa, siempre y cuando se saciaran de las mejores cosas de la vida. \u00a0<\/span> Si alguien que lee esto piensa que Amos, o yo, estamos molestando a las mujeres, ese no es el caso. Los hombres y las mujeres fueron todos responsables de la corrupci\u00f3n en la tierra. Am\u00f3s se dirigi\u00f3 a ellas porque las mujeres c\u00f3modas pensaban que no ten\u00edan papel, culpa ni responsabilidad por la corrupci\u00f3n que estaba destruyendo sus tierras. Ten\u00edan un sentido de privilegio pero ning\u00fan sentido de responsabilidad. Privilegio. Es una palabra cargada hoy en nuestro discurso social y pol\u00edtico. La Nueva Versi\u00f3n King James no usa esta palabra. Pero la realidad est\u00e1 presente. \u00a0<\/span> Puedes verlo en 1 Reyes 21, donde el rey israelita Acab usa su estatus y privilegio para asesinar a Nabot y robar su propiedad. Puedes verlo en la vida del rey de Jud\u00e1, David, que toma la esposa de otro hombre como suya y luego organiza el asesinato del hombre para cubrir su propio pecado. \u00a0<\/span> Puede verlo en Hechos 5, donde Anan\u00edas y Safira retienen parte de los ingresos de la venta de la propiedad en lugar de dar el total previamente declarado. Lo ves en 3 Juan 9, donde un hombre en la iglesia llamado Diotrephes "ama tener la preeminencia". En el pasaje de 3 Juan, la preeminencia literalmente significa "ama ser el primero". \u00a0<\/span> \u00a1Eso me pone nervioso cuando me doy cuenta de eso! El problema no es si hay privilegios para algunas personas; Claramente lo hay. Privilege te lleva a ciertas universidades, te da ciertos trabajos y te invita a ciertas fiestas. Si elimina privilegios de un grupo de personas, simplemente mu\u00e9valo a otro grupo. Siempre habr\u00e1 privilegio. \u00a0<\/span> Muchos de nosotros, como seguidores de Jes\u00fas, tenemos privilegios de riqueza, seguridad y oportunidades de las cuales ni siquiera somos conscientes. En muchos casos, esos son el resultado del trabajo duro, la diligencia y las bendiciones de Dios. Entonces, el problema no es si podemos tener ciertos privilegios o no. M\u00e1s bien, el problema es nuestra conciencia de justicia, misericordia y responsabilidad relacionada con esos privilegios. Si mi privilegio ha sido a expensas de otros, como fue el caso de las "vacas de Bashan" de Am\u00f3s, entonces tenemos la responsabilidad de ser conscientes de la injusticia. Esto no se debe a ninguna filosof\u00eda pol\u00edtica, leyes o comentaristas. Es porque Dios ha colocado a su iglesia en el mundo para que sea una luz para las naciones. \u00a0<\/span> Tambi\u00e9n se debe a "la ley del amor" mencionada en Romanos 13: 8 y 10 y G\u00e1latas 5:14. Al escribir a la capital del Imperio Romano, la ciudad privilegiada de Roma, Pablo les record\u00f3 a los cristianos all\u00ed que \u201cel amor no hace da\u00f1o al pr\u00f3jimo; por eso el amor es el cumplimiento de la ley \u201d(13:10). Debemos preocuparnos por los oprimidos, no solo por nosotros mismos. Este a\u00f1o, la IPHC ha estado reflexionando sobre la importancia de la justicia. No vemos este valor central desde los espectros pol\u00edticos de nuestros d\u00edas, aunque ciertamente podemos tener mentes abiertas pero cr\u00edticas para aprender. M\u00e1s bien, vemos la justicia desde el punto de vista de que Dios en Cristo nos ha llamado como seguidores de Jes\u00fas para ser testigos del plan de Dios de redimir a este mundo perdido. \u00a0<\/span> Usted y yo podemos tener privilegios, pero no usamos nuestras bendiciones para oprimir a otros. Vivimos justa y responsablemente ante los dem\u00e1s como testigos de la gloria de Dios. De hecho, somos privilegiados con las "riquezas de gloria en Cristo Jes\u00fas", riquezas y privilegios que nos permiten cuidar que "la justicia corra como el agua y la justicia como una corriente poderosa" (Am\u00f3s 5:24). \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
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Publicado originalmente en la revista Encourage<\/a> .","author_name":"Doug Beacham","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Beacham.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-15v","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}