Whenever we lose sight of God’s standard, we settle into useless attempts to justify ourselves. This is the origin of pride - falsely assuming that we can determine our own righteousness. Amos reminds the people of Israel that the Lord does, in fact, have a standard, and that they have fallen far beneath it.

In the same way, our society has progressively neglected God’s standard. Our apathy, our complacency, and our overwhelming self-interest has compromised our spirituality, but yet, we still affirm ourselves as favored by God. Obviously, we’re in need of a major recalibration - but most importantly, we need a true standard by which to measure ourselves.