6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
God has brought a charge against His people, and the charge is the same today. Their religion and worship had become nothing but emptiness and meaningless rituals. All of it had become unrelated to their character and unrelated to their daily life.
- They were deeply religious and very faithful in performing the acts of worship, but were empty and meaningless. They had no affect whatsoever on the character of those who worshiped or on their daily walk and activities.
- As we go through this life serving God, we need to be careful not to let our acts of service become empty, meaningless, and void of any real heart. When these people discover how displeased God is with them, they have a suggestion. They ask some questions.
The Questions
With what shall I come before the LORD?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, and ten thousand rivers of oil?
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
Micah 6:8 asks us what the Lord requires of us. There are many different ways to answer this question.
- You might have a passion for evangelism, so you focus on the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20.
- You might be more focused on worship and emphasize verses like Psalm 95:6.
- You may think that God wants holiness, and the Ten Commandments define what it is that God expects of you.
- You may emphasize Christian character, so the fruit of the Spiritas described in Paul’s writings might be your favorite.
The wide range of answers to this question helps the Christian community to be diverse, holistic, and inclusive, so that the passions, interests, and gifts of all God’s people can be realized.
Perhaps thinking about what the Lord desires of us also encourages us to develop a holistic spirituality that includes the parts of our faith that are not in our wheelhouse. If I have a deep interest and call to pray, I may need to push myself to make sure I head out from my prayer closet to share my faith. If I love the experience of worship, I probably should not ignore my neighbors as I walk or drive to church on Sunday morning.
Micah 6:8 connects our faith with our actions and our care for those in need with our walk with God: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
- Micah says, He has shown you: “You act as if what I require of you is some mystery. In fact, it is no mystery at all. I have shown youclearly what is good and what I require of you.”
- The LORD answered “What I require of you isn’t complicated. Simply do three things.”
- Do justice: “Act in a just, fair way towards others. Treat them as you would want to be treated.”
- Love mercy: “Don’t just show mercy, but love to show it. Give others the same measure of mercy you want to receive from Me.”
- Walk humbly with your God: “Remember who I am – your God. If you keep that in mind, you will walk humblybefore Me.”
Doing Justice
God tells us to “do justice.” Perhaps you struggle to know what it means to do justice. How did I do justice this past week? What does it look like? We have often defined justice by placing it primarily in a political, economic, or judicial realm. These definitions make it difficult to identify that we are doing justice on a regular basis. Where are our courts and police malfunctioning? What laws or practices allow for racial discrimination? What businesses take advantage of low-income people and charge them exorbitant interest rates? While these are indeed a part of social injustice, and we must fully engage in them, they can be distant from our daily lives.
Our definition of justice is “to create a world where all people have an opportunity to fully develop the gifts that God has placed within them.” Justice may look like one of the following:
- Supporting an overwhelmed single parent who is struggling to find the time and resources to give adequate time to his or her children
- Taking in a foster child
- Employing a young person coming out of prison
- Or a host of other activities that provide opportunities for others to develop their God given gifts
Doing justice is also developmental, meaning that we don’t simply give things away to meet a need, but we help people help themselves. Using the well-known fishing metaphor, we don’t just give people a fish, but we teach them how to fish.
In our daily lives we all have the opportunity to do justice with actions that help people help themselves. In this, we are creating an environment where people can thrive and achieve their full potential.
Loving Mercy
Secondly, God desires for us to “love mercy,” or, in some translations, kindness.
- This is the Hebrew word hesed, which can be used to refer to God’s loving kindness to us.
- It is interesting to note that God wants us to be drawn to mercy—having compassion for those in need. This is not always easy, as we see so much human need; it is on our street corners and bombards us in the media.
- It is easy for our hearts to harden and our minds to judge. These people are being both foolish and manipulative. They are taking advantage of our care.And we need to hear God say once again, “As one of my people, I hope you love mercy—for that is what you have received.”
Walking Humbly with God
I want to spend a little more time here. To “walk humbly with God” is the basis for loving mercy and doing justice.
- Because of what God has done, we fully invest in healing the world around us through mercy and justice.
- Cultivating our walk with God provides the power and passion for us to fully engage—it grounds everything else we do.
The “walk” metaphor is used often in Scripture to describe the overall direction one’s life is heading.
- In Deuteronomy, there are a number of references to walking in the way of the Lord.
- Several psalms refer to a walk being blameless.
- 1 John encourages us to walk in the light.
- This poetic picture envisions a comfortable relationship of presence with God and a life that fits into that path.
- The adverb “humbly” moves us away from arrogance and the egocentric need to always be better than others, to the simple acceptance of the gifts that God has placed within us.
How to walk humbly with your God:
- Walk humbly when you are spiritually strong.
- Walk humbly when you have much work to do.
- Walk humbly in all your motives.
- Walk humbly when studying God’s word.
- Walk humbly when under trials.
- Walk humbly in your devotions.
- Walk humbly with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Walk humbly when dealing with sinners.
True Humility
- True humility is thinking rightly of oneself.
- When you have found out who you really are, you will be humble.
- You are nothing to boast of.
- To be humble will make you safe.
- To be humble will make you happy.
- To be humble will make joy in your heart when you go to bed.
- To be humble here will make you wake up in the likeness of your Master.
Questions to consider
- What does the Lord desire for you?
- What gifts and abilities has He given to you?
- How can you step outside your comfort zone to other areas the Lord may be desiring for you?
- What are ways you can make Micah 6:8 an action in your life?
