The people during this time were warped by their sins. They allowed for idols to direct their attention away from God. The people sinned greatly through having no love for their neighbor, taking advantage of others, and only being concerned about themselves. More than any other prophet, I continually pointed out the people’s failure 
to fully embrace God’s idea of justice. They would sell the poor off for goods, take advantage of the helpless, burden the poor, and the men repeatedly wronged the women. The Lord had given the Israelites a set of laws (10 commandments) to guide them through the best way to live but they quickly fell off that wagon. You can see how this would anger me and especially God. Hung over on their economic success and drive to boost their financial well-being, the people abandoned their notion of caring for their neighbor. I was quick to scold them because I saw that their way of living was evidence that they had forgotten God. No longer did they give to their neighbor but now they were taking from them. They no longer relied on God for comfort but now they found their worth in their belongings. Throughout my book I address some of the many sins the people of Israel commit and in the second chapter of my book are a few of many.
“Thus says the Lord: for three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals – those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned.”
Amos 2:6-7
The people continually sinned against God even after being warned of their wrongs. Instead of recognizing my words they rebuked them and continued in their sinful ways. The point of my ministry is to recognize people’s wrongs so they can repent and accept God. We as people should not hold on to our sinful ways but we should repent and move in a righteous direction. The people in this time worshiped false idols, fell into adulteress acts, and were selfish. We should not allow ourselves to idolize things above God and put ourselves before others. During this time the people were so engulfed in what they were doing that they lost sight of what the Lord told them and my mission was 
to point out their failures to help bring justice. Yet today people are just as easily guilty through idolizing food, appearance, relationships, possessions, or maybe it’s catching up on the newest episode of the bachelor on hulu but the point is that we often prioritize things over God. Through my ministry I have learned about how we may not identify these things as idols and people will tell us we’re wrong but we are quick to rebuke these words. While the Israelite’s outer lives appeared to radiate with success their inner lives fell into dec
ay. Rather then trying to seek justice, mercy, and humility they accepted their arrogance, idolatry, and selfish ways. We often fall into this temptation but through my teachings we see how this way of thinking brought destruction so we know what not to do.
Amos’ Blog 