The prophet Amos brings a scathing indictment against the wealthy of ancient Israel. He speaks to them at the royal holy place, accusing them of hypocrisy — of observing a constricted form of religion, while scheming to wring more money out of their neighbors and crush the needy.
We probably see our relationship as First World consumers to Third World poor people no less complacently than the comfortable courtesans of Amos’s time. Economists observe that in today’s intricate global economy, the cup of coffee we enjoy in the morning comes with enormous human costs for harvesters in Guatemala, Colombia, or Rwanda. Our lives are intimately connected with the lives of the world’s poor.
Read the following passage. Listen for the corrupt business practices it names.
Amos calls the rich to change.
Hear this, you that trample the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?
“We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”
God has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Amos 8.4-7
- What business practices are we uncomfortable with? How might we change our involvement in them?