Feeling More Important to God
I believe we are all susceptible to the error of thinking that we are more important to God than someone else. This can also be true of how countries and groups, like churches, feel about themselves. A preacher might think he is more important to God than other members of the church because he preaches and shepherds the flock. That is never true. A church might feel like it is more important to God than another church, because it is a larger congregation, which is not true. A country like Israel or the United States might feel more important to God, too, but God says they are not. This is how the Israelites were feeling in the days that Amos we prophesying to them. God had to set them straight. (Amos 9:7) "Are you Israelites more important to Me than the Ethiopians?" asks the Lord. "I brought Israel out of Egypt, but I also brought the Philistines from Crete and led the Arameans out of Kir." I think there is a lesson for us here from several angles. Let's try t...