January 8, 2013

¹⁴ Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
¹⁵ Hate evil, love good;
    maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy
    on the remnant of Joseph.

Amos 5:14-15 (NIV)

 What if this verse were turned inward for believers?  Rather than thinking of it as the outward seeking of good or the hating of the evil in the world, we used this passage for internal reflection?

Seek good, not evil:  Do we seek the good within us?  Do we really search our hearts, minds, and souls for love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22 (NIV)  Since the Holy Spirit resides in each Christian, its fruit is also accessible to each believer.  But we must desire and earnestly pray for that fruit to manifest itself each day in each situation.

Hate evil, love good:  When many Christian think of hating evil all those sins of society, government, and others come to mind.  Drugs.  Child abuse.  Divorce.  All are worthy of our hate.  (Just the sin, not the sinner.)  But how many truly HATE the evil that still lingers within?  The ease at which we still have impure thoughts or listen to that juicy piece of gossip at work.  Do we hate that superior attitude which lurks just under the surface?  Perhaps if we hated our disobedience there would be less t.v. and more Bible study.

Before we start examining the world through the Amos 5 lens, look inward through that same lens.