A Devotional Thought From Amos And Jonah

All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. Amos 9:10

          The self-proclaimed enemies of our nation are crying “Death to America!” Yet there are those among us who tell us they don’t mean it. There is no threat. The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. Eat, drink, and be merry, because tomorrow you will be able to eat, drink, and be merry, all over again. The only real danger to America are those who want us to observe the moral values which are America’s old fashioned, out of date, tradition; those who want religious thought and action to be allowed and tolerated in the public square; those who have heard the proverb in a different way: eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you will die. The prophet, Amos, would be with this latter faction. If  people deny punishment for decadence and sins is coming, if they ignore the danger, according to Amos they will be among those who die by the sword when the enemy comes.

          Moral behavior, the traditional American work ethic, and a vibrant life of faith will keep our nation on the alert and prepared for any violent efforts against us. This is true for any Western nation. Tragically some of these nations have traded the moral high ground for a spirit of license which leaves them vulnerable. The solution to this vulnerability is found in of all places, ancient Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire at the height of her power. Decadent and wicked Nineveh was ripe for the judgment of God. A prophet, Jonah, was sent to announce Nineveh’s destruction and something amazing happened. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them: and he did it not (Jonah 3:10).

          The people of Nineveh saw that they had to make a choice between sin or righteousness; between sin or their country; between sin or their loved ones; because all were in danger because of their sin. Does it not follow that any country dispensing with moral truth and biblical faith is in the same position as Nineveh. Especially when their sins are as a stench before God. These two prophets show two sides of the coin: on one side sin brings death/on the other side repentance leads to life.

          Here’s how the apostle Paul lists the sins of the last days (2 Timothy 3:2-5a), sins that preachers and prophets, and any wise ethicist, should call the nation to repent of for her own good: For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:

          Remember sin brings death, repentance leads to life. I read a quote years ago, supposedly from the graffiti in a major city, that said: “Evil spelled backwards is live.”