I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Amos 5:23-24
What an odd thought, that God abhors our musical praise! Isn't that what "worship" is all about? The music, the Chris Tomlin lyrics, the lifting of hands in a seeming effort to reach the Lord Himself?
In the Protestant Evangelical culture, I've found that the worship music is often exaggerated and emotionally charged. We declare that we will do whatever God calls us to; we'll follow Him wherever He goes; we'll give everything for Him. But at least in my life, those words are virtual lies. We don't give everything to Him: we'll give a small percentage, just enough to ameliorate the guilt but not enough to constitute a significant sacrifice on our part. We won't go anywhere He does: maybe to church on Sundays and perhaps even Wednesday nights, but to a foreign country? To my next-door neighbor's house to talk about my faith? No way.
I cannot speak to the culture that God was admonishing in this passage, but if it were ours, it would be no surprise that he desires acts of justice and righteousness over song. He desires that we cease the gossiping and fantasizing on Sunday mornings before we wail out "Let the Praises Ring." He desires that we seek justice— even if it simply means donating clothes to a needy local family— before we raise our hands to "How He Loves."
