Remember three fingers point at me

“This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Gaza, even for four, I will not relent. Because she took captive whole communities and sold them to Edom,”
‭‭Amos‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://www.bible.com/111/amo.1.6.niv

I bragged about how big our peppers were.  My husband said "Send me a picture." Easy to do with my handy iphone but how would he know just how big it was?  So I grabbed nearest familiar object to give him a comparison.

Comparison is a tool our brain uses to comprehend the world.  

We use comparison to divide time. We lived through a major earthquake.  We have before earthquake (B.E.)possessions and fewer after earthquake items (A.E.).

We use comparison to value.  Like how big the pepper is.

We compare our abilities to others. It makes us feel better or worse.

Maybe we even compare our sins. 

Perhaps when Amos was listing sins (as in verse 1:6) and condemning all of Israel's evil neighbors, the Israelites were nodding in agreement.  Perhaps they were feeling a bit better about themselves, in comparison. Perhaps they relished the sentences of God's judgment.

But............ all too soon Amos delivers God's evaluation of their behavior and lifestyles.  I was reminded of the admonition of an elementary school teacher. "Remember when you point your finger at someone that will be three fingers pointing back at you."

Amos 1:6 reminds me to stop wasting time comparing my life to others to feel better about myself.  Ask, how does God feel about me? 

A Sunday School teacher taught me "Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so."