Lust

Monday October 1st, Amos 8: 5-6 Woe to those addicted to feeling good—life without pain! those obsessed with looking good—life without wrinkles! They could not care less about their country going to ruin. 7 But here's what's really coming: a forced march into exile. They'll leave the country whining, a rag-tag bunch of good-for-nothings. We again return to the two commands of Christ, love God, love others. In the second half of that commandment, we are called into community. We are called to view the world in a “what is best for us”, rather than “what is in it for me”, mentality. It sounds so simple, and it is simple to comprehend on the surface. As with most things that are good for us, there is often a big gap between our understanding and our doing. As you look at trends in our world, from the architecture of our dwellings to our domestic and foreign policy, there is a headlong drive toward the “what is in it for me” side of things, and if the “what is best for us” side gets a piece of the pie, it is only because the “us” is defined in very narrow terms. We find ourselves in a society whose attitudes are not much different from one Amos was speaking to. We all know what is to be done, very few are willing to make the sacrifice to do it. It is the calling of the church, and that is you and I, to help society turn it’s collective heads from the lust of inward gazing to outward awareness. Buechner defines lust as the craving for salt by a man who is dying of thirst.