What If The Lord Roared From Zion?

On 23rd April 2013, the Savar building collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1129 people and injuring approximately 2500. Target, Primark, Mango, Kmart, Wal-Mart, Tesco, Matalan, Benetton, The Bon Marche, Prada, Gucci, Versace & The Children’s Place are just some of the many retailers who sourced clothing and fabric from this factory. Some of the world’s largest retail companies, the rich and powerful of society, are sourcing goods from unsafe factories where people are paid less than $1 per day.

Amos was speaking to a small part of the world in the Ancient Near East, but now the problem of exploitation of the poor reaches far beyond that, into every corner of the world. Amos accused the people of selling others for a pair of sandals; today people are being paid virtually nothing so we can wear sandals. We might be able to suggest that this is what Amos was talking about when he said that those who trample on the head of the poor profane God’s holy name. Globalized companies, those with the wealth and power to change society, exploit the poor for major gains, rather than using some of their increased profits to alleviate the poverty of their workers.