"Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so, the Lord of hosts, will be with you .. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate .. [L]et justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." (Amos 5:14-15, 24).

The prophet Amos, to put it mildly, was not happy with the people of Israel, His anger came from the fact that God, to put it mildly, was not happy with the people of Israel. What was the problem? The nation of Israel considered itself better than the nations around  it because it didn't war on other nations or commit atrocities in war; but what it failed to look at were the social injustices within its own borders  These, in a way, were considered worse because they were committed by Israelites against Israelites and were also in violation of God's commandments. The book of Amos describes how the poor were being oppressed - financially, socially, in the courts, and so on. Most condemned by Amos where those in positions of power and influence and those who worshipped and offered sacrifice regularly in the Temple and yet failed to see the needs of others. 

Amos' words can be difficult to hear and he implies strongly that God's anger will be directed against injustice and those who participate in it. But more troubling for us are his words more strongly condemning God's people for allowing it to happen and being a part of it. Amos clearly believes that special relationship between God and God's people made the people's sins worse than they would have been if committed by anyone else. 

In other words, when it comes to standing up for and helping others, we, like it or not, are held to a higher standard. Is there some place where your voice needs to be heard? Some place you can offer support to others even if only in some small way? God says we are to love good and hate evil; and to seek good, so that we may live and so that God will be with us. There is no middle ground in those words for those who claim to be followers of Christ.