Chronicles of a Journeyman

Amos 5:24 – But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream (NKJV)

The fact that this verse of Scripture begins with a “but” tells us that its message is incomplete without a look at the preceding verse(s). From verse 21 of Amos chapter 5, the Lord, speaking through the prophet, decries the feasts, gatherings, offerings, and singing of the Israelites. He dissociates Himself from those activities even though He originally commanded them. Those actions had become empty shells, losing the value the Lord intended but retaining their form and appearance. Even more interesting is the use of the word “your” in describing those activities. The Lord no longer identified with these activities; they had become merely human activities. The offerings now belonged to the Israelites, and no longer to the Lord. The same was true about their feasts and their singing. This implies that religious activities can lose their value if we ignore the heart of God’s command – his real intent for our lives.

This brings us to today’s verse – a description of what the Lord desired among His people: justice and righteousness. In Psalms 89:14 & 97:2, the Scriptures assert that these traits are the foundation of God’s throne. In other words, God’s kingdom is founded on these principles and would fail to stand if they were taken away. We also know from Scripture that these traits are the very nature of God – the essence of His Person. He is the standard for both righteousness and justice. It is no surprise then that the Lord considers religious activities abhorrent if we fail to uphold righteousness and justice in our communities. Even more interesting is the expectation that they should “run” like waters and mighty streams. Righteousness and justice must continuously exist among us for God to be honored.

So, what is justice? What is righteousness? Justice speaks to equitable treatment of people without discrimination, segregation, or partiality. It is recognizing that everyone is made in God’s image and doing our best to treat them alike. It is avoiding discrimination based on wealth, status, or achievement. Race, gender, background or physical appearance should not deter us from ensuring everyone is treated fairly. Righteousness, on the other hand, speaks to the state of our hearts before God, which reflects in the way we treat others. Do we cheat, lie, steal, manipulate or even defend any such action? Then we are being unrighteous. Righteousness is proactively seeking and doing good to others. It is shown in how we treat our neighbors, conduct our business, speak to elders, and relate with people who have less privilege than us. Righteousness is a disposition of the heart, that pushes us to do good and abhor evil, pleasing God and seeking the well-being of everyone.

If we ignore these two but embrace religious activities, then our religion is in vain. James asserts this same thing in his epistle (see James 1:26-27, 2:1-13). He calls religion that fails to bear the twin fruits of justice and righteousness worthless. Such religion is both a waste of God’s and man’s time. It is a mere deception of one’s own heart. Only a person who is committed to practicing righteousness and justice can truly be pleasing to God. My challenge to you today is to examine your life. Do you practice justice? Or do you discriminate against certain types of people? Do you embody righteousness? Or do you endorse good actions and secretly practice wickedness? Even if no one sees, there is One who sees and knows all, and He will bring every secret thing to light in due time.

Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (NIV)