God and Traffic Cops

Scripture Passage that Caught my attention today: Amos 8:4-6 Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
5 saying, “When will the new moon be over
so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath,
so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
and practice deceit with false balances,
6 buying the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”

Observation: Human nature really loves trying to get away with things and serving themselves.

Application: As I was bringing our youngest child to swimming lessons this morning I passed a city police officer sitting in a car in a somewhat hidden position. Why? Because it gave him an excellent view of traffic in a 25 mph zone that tends to feel more like a 35 mph zone. I have little doubt that the officer will catch somebody driving too fast. In that area, with a somewhat steep hill to boot, it’s quite easy to end up going 35 or even 40 mph without even realizing it. But the officer didn’t catch me! Having seen him I was especially careful to keep my foot on the brake so that my car wouldn’t coast its way to a speed worthy of a ticket.

But what if I knew that there was no officer in the area? Would I then have been so careful to watch my speed? Probably not. Many of us who consider ourselves to be law-abiding citizens are really just people who endeavor not to get caught doing something wrong. On the highway some of us will drive 4 or 5 miles over the speed limit assuming that an officer probably won’t pull us over unless we are going faster than that. When filling out tax forms some will not report income that they received in cash, feeling that it’s unlikely that the IRS will be able to trace that income. The list goes on and on with the specifics simply varying from person to person.

In Amos’ day the people were giving lip service to honoring God but, in reality, they just wanted to offer the bare minimum to God and then get on with their self-serving lives. They didn’t want to get ‘caught’ not honoring God but, in reality, they weren’t really honoring God at all. Even worse, they essentially dishonored God by taking advantage of their fellow human beings—the very ones that God sought to protect.

God and traffic cops actually have a lot in common. They are each often understood to be wanting to catch us doing something wrong. Indeed they do. But they also want to help us to do what is right because what is right is ultimately that which is most beneficial to ourselves and others. Officers, after all, are primarily concerned with the public good. So is God. Perhaps we should be too. Maybe then we wouldn’t spend so much time and energy trying to get away with things and instead would focus on how much we might be able to improve the world as our offering of thanksgiving to God.

Prayer: Lord, help us all to see the world as your gift to us and our care of the world as our gift back to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Amos 7-9, Psalm 104, Titus 2)