Merry Christmas, Cows of Bashan!

Thanksgiving is over and we've officially entered the season of peace, love, and excess! Now, don't get me wrong. I absolutely love Christmas shopping. I love going into the city on a cold, crisp night and sipping my hot chocolate as I decide which store to visit next. I love finding a gift that a friend would never buy for herself, but will end up using everyday. I love hearing the Nordstrom pianist play Christmas carols (granted, this is the ONLY store where I like to hear Christmas music.) I love bringing all my gifts home and choosing the perfect wrapping paper for each one. But each year I happily spend money on my family and friends without giving the slightest thought to the poor in my community.

So I started thinking about the prophet Amos and what he might say about how I celebrate Christmas. The book of Amos is decidedly un-Christmasy, but I think it has some helpful ideas to chew on while I'm battling the crowds at the Gap.

Amos was written to the Northern Kingdom of Israel between 790 and 753 BC during the reign of Jereboam II. This was Israel's "Silver Age," a time of great peace and prosperity. The major world power of Assyria was experiencing a temporary decline and didn't present a great threat, the Arameans were fighting a civil war, and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were actually getting along. Israel's territory expanded, trade and commerce increased and a small and affluent upper class thrived.

Sadly, this prosperity was accompanied by great sins against the poor. Amos 4:1 speaks to the wealthy women of Israel and says, "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy." 5:11 states that the wealthy “impose heavy rent on the poor” and 5:12 says, "they turn aside the poor in the gate." 8:5 –6 describes how dealers cheated the poor and sold “the refuse of the wheat” and thus “trample the needy.” 2:8 states that "on garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar." God's law said that if you lent widows money, you could not take their coats as a pledge. (Deuteronomy 24:17) This protected the poor, who would only have one coat and needed it to keep them warm at night.

Amos goes on to explain that this gross neglect and oppression of the poor (as well as pagan religious practices and overall lack of respect for God's law) will result in judgement for Israel. And in about 722 BC, Israel was conquered by the Assyrians.

Amos reveals how deeply God cares for the poor and wants us to show compassion to those who are in need. While I'm not stealing people's coats or imposing unfair rent, I'm a bit disturbed at the amount of time and energy I spend helping the poor at Christmas time compared to the time and energy I spend looking for rainbow knee socks (which would actually be really cool . . .)

I don't think I need to give up buying gifts for family and friends, but I do think I need to be a bit more balanced and look for ways I can help those in need as well.

Here are a couple of nifty ideas I found:

1. Samaritan's Purse has a Christmas gift catalogue chock full of things you can give to people all over the world. For $4 you can give a baby milk for a week. You can also give a family a water filter so they can have clean water to drink, give blankets to little kids, provide temporary shelter for victims of natural disasters and more. Check out the Samaritan's Purse website at www.samaritanspurse.com.

2. Compassion International is an awesome organization that helps people sponsor kids in need all over the world. You can also make one time donations to provide Christmas gifts, help unsponsored children, aid victims of disasters and more. Make donations at https://www.compassion.com/contribution/default.htm.

3. Talk with your local Salvation Army or homeless shelter and see if you can buy gifts for any of the kids staying there.