Amos 6:4-7 (ESV)
4 “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
and calves from the midst of the stall,
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
6 who drink wine in bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
If you’ve followed my family and our story, you know that, in July, we moved to Las Vegas where I now serve as pastor of Providence Reformed Church. This has been a wonderful move. We serve a lovely body of believers who deeply desire to hear and obey the word of God and abide in Christ. Our family has adjusted well and has enjoyed the natural beauty of the mountains and canyons here in the desert. We have also, as you would imagine, found the city itself fascinating.
This city has everything. For good or for ill, there is nothing a person could want that they could not find here. Food, entertainment, gambling, architecture, spectacle, shopping, and all forms of extravagance are what Las Vegas is known for.
There is an interesting temptation that can come when experiencing life here in Vegas. No, I’m not tempted to bankrupt our family through gambling or to dive off a cliff into foolishness. But, it is interesting to know about the crazy luxuries that the city boasts. From palatial hotel rooms to fine art to thousand-dollar meals, Las Vegas is the place for the rich and famous to come and play. No matter how amazed one is by seeing a story of a multi-floor, 4,000 square foot hotel room complete with personal chef, something else comes to top it.
Thus, it is healthy to see something like what is written by the prophet Amos above. Las Vegas is not the first city to be completely given to extravagant pleasure. In fact, such had become the culture of ancient Israel before the fall of the northern kingdom. We see that the people were given to ease, laziness, and comfort in verse 4. Also, in verse 4, we see them devoted to fine food. Musical entertainment, even useless ditties, occupied their time as we see in verse 5. In verse 6, we see the vanity of expensive perfumes and rich wines. But, as verse 6 moves into verse 7, we see that the people do not care about the fall of their land and are destined for destruction.
And here we sit. You do not have to live here in Vegas with me to see that we live in a nation that looks like what Amos described. We are a people seeking leisure far above seeking productive lives. We are lazy as a people. We love our comfy beds, our rich foods, our banal entertainment (Is anyone singing about anything important any longer?), our looks, our smells, our wine, and all the rest. Imagine how this would have looked had Amos written after the invention of the smart phone, 24-hour cable news, or social media?
Now, here are a few things to ponder. First, God did not condemn comforts. So, do not immediately go out and throw away your soft bed or throw out your nice food. Preventing pleasure was not God’s point.
Second, letting this passage lead us to sit in judgment over others in our land is not useful to us. Throwing rocks at the culture has never helped the church. Nor has angry cultural criticism ever been the command of Scripture for God’s people. Look at the letters to the Corinthians as an example, and you will see that God commands his people to love him, to love each other, and to live differently than the people around them. God did not command them to aggressively attack their city, he told them to change it through their different lives which would include personal evangelism.
Third, this passage offers us a warning. We are not to find ourselves overly fascinated with the extravagances of the super-rich. While such is great fodder for reality TV specials, it is not at all helpful for the heart of the average human being. We do not do our souls good when we allow ourselves to be jealous of those who throw their money away on $50K night club visits or $20K hotel stays.
Fourth, the big point of the passage is to see that judgment of God is coming on those who care for the trinkets of this life while not at all caring about the people and the things of God. I do not write that to condemn the celebs and all that they do. My point is for us as believers. We need to remember the shortness of this life. We need to remember the significance of eternity. We need to watch out that we do not allow ourselves to become so addicted to our own comforts and pleasures that we ignore the kingdom of God. Nor do we need to become so fascinated by others’ high-profile lives that we fail to recognize that God has given us all that we need for life and godliness.
Our world is fallen. Our own hearts can be too easily tempted to wish we had the luxuries of the super-rich. But we would be better served to seek what will actually give our hearts lasting pleasure and our souls lasting reward. Christ has come. The God who made us has greater treasures for us in his presence than anyone on earth has ever dreamed up. Let us live by faith, trusting that eternity with Christ is worth far more and will be far more extravagant than a few years of soft living in the here and now.
Let me add one last thought. It is Christmas time, and thoughts like these can dampen the holiday celebrations of some. Please do not fail to realize that, as we celebrate, even as we feast with family and friends, we can do so rightly. Do not let this season and these feasts lead you to laziness or to envy for those who have more. Instead, let every good bite of food and every well-given gift remind you of the kindness, grace, and goodness of our God, the giver of all good things.
Pastor Travis Peterson 