“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”  Amos 5:24

Many people are familiar with today’s theme verse because Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quoted it in his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963 and used it a number of other times in his writing and speaking. It comes from the Old Testament book written by the prophet Amos around 750 BC. God had given Israel both peace and prosperity, but rather than responding with gratitude and obedience, the people had become morally and spiritually corrupt, resulting in significant social injustice.

God inspired Amos to warn the people against these practices, and as Dr. King’s speech reminds us, it’s a warning that still stands. “The Lord loves righteousness and justice” (Psalm 33:5a), and injustice makes him angry. “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused,” God says in Exodus 22:22-24a.

And consider this warning given through the prophet Zechariah (7:9-12). “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry.”

The Bible is clear. To the extent that God has granted us prosperity, power, or position we should do our best to promote justice and righteousness wherever he puts us. What can you do in your present position and circumstances to promote righteousness and justice?

“He has shown you, O man, 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.” (Micah 6:8)