Amos 7:14, 15 “Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ‘I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD said to me,’ ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

If Amaziah thought Amos took this job of prophesying against Israel upon himself Amos intended to set him straight. Amos wants him to know he didn’t ask for the task. He wasn’t a volunteer. He had a job and liked it. The call to speak against Israel was given to him by God and he could not refuse. Had Amos took this upon himself, Amaziah might have had a point in telling him to go to Judah and prophesy there.

All of us have jobs to some extent. God calls us from our work because He has greater tasks for us than we have chosen for ourselves. If we answer His call to teach the good news or to condemn evil it will be a more important task than we are involved in. God does call us. He calls us to be His servants in a lost world. Doctor, lawyer or Indian Chief are all important jobs but they pale in comparison to the higher calling in Christ. Can one be a doctor, lawyer or Indian Chief and still be a servant in a lost world? Of course we can. Jesus was all of those things and more but they weren’t His most important job.

Task for Today: Regardless of what your occupation is it is not the most important thing in the world and shouldn’t be the most important thing in your life. Think about it. What do you consider your primary calling? Hopefully you have a job so that you can be a servant. Paul made tents and Luke was a physician but they both knew what their real work was. What is your real work today?