There is a multitude of philosophies being taught about what God requires of His children. What are His expectations for us? It’s easy to get flooded with the multiplicity of philosophies and sometimes difficult to know which ones are not biblical, and which ones are based in biblical principles. What does the Bible say about what God wants? The book of Micah provides the answer:
“Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or 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? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:6-8
These verses give three requirements of Christians: do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Sounds simple enough, but for many of us it would be easier to give sacrificially than to live out these requirements. It would be easier to give away everything we own and live on pennies than to faithfully live according to God’s requirements. Many people choose a life of grand gestures of sacrifice rather than facing the difficult task of doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.
To do justly is to live honestly, fairly, and with integrity. That’s a tall order! It leaves no room for white lies, truth stretching, omission of facts or details, or half-truths. When we live justly; honest in our communication and actions, treating others with fairness, and walking in integrity; we will be living with transparency. There is something very liberating about living life in a manner that is transparent. Being transparent doesn’t mean we want to advertise our personal business to everyone who walks past us, but it does mean there is nothing hidden that would bring shame if revealed. Actively choosing to do justly in all areas of life puts us in conflict with our sinful nature. Our sinful nature wants to cut corners, hold back on embarrassing details and shortcomings, and in general avoid being truthful. Doing justly is not a one-time decision. It is a decision we must re-commit to over and over as we find ourselves daily grappling with our sinful nature.
According to Dr. Gerald McKelroy, mercy can be defined as unmerited favor: It is not receiving a negative consequence we deserve. In Matthew 18, Jesus tells a parable about a king who was taking count of his servants who owed him money. One servant owed a very large sum, ten thousand talents, more than he could likely pay off in his lifetime. The king granted mercy – unmerited favor – and forgave the debt. The same servant went out and confronted another who owed him a very small amount, one hundred pence, a surmountable debt. Instead of following the example of the king and granting mercy, the servant showed no mercy and had the man thrown in a debtor’s prison until he could pay. The king in the story showed mercy. For no reason, when he did not have to, when there was no advantage to him, he granted mercy to his servant. The servant, however, extended no mercy. Word got back to the king that the forgiven servant had showed no mercy despite receiving it himself. When the king found out, he told the servant: “O thou wicked servant, I forgave the all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” And the king sent the servant to the debtors’ prison as well until his original debt could be paid.
As Christians, we have received mercy from Christ, our Savior. He came to earth to die on a cross, and rose from the grave three days later, to pay for our sin. He didn’t have to die for our sin. There is nothing we could ever do to deserve what Christ did for us. It was the ultimate sacrifice and act of mercy. How can we, having received such great mercy from the Lord, not extend mercy to people around us? It is easy to get caught up in the mentality of wanting what is owed us, wanting so-called justice, and perhaps even relishing the thought of someone else getting a consequence they deserve for a foolish choice. But God requires that we love mercy – that we love extending unmerited favor to others.
Walking humbly with God may be the most difficult of the three requirements. It shouldn’t be difficult; God knows absolutely every detail about us! He knows every action we take and word we speak. He sees the innermost desires of our hearts and minds. Nothing is hidden from God – yet we find it difficult to go to Him and confess our faults and sins. Going to God with humility is choosing to submit ourselves to Him. It is acknowledging that without His divine help we are incapable. When we let our pride rule, we prohibit ourselves from having honest and humble conversations with our Savior. Being humble before our God should be the easiest thing we do all day.
The three requirements revealed in the book of Micah are simply, but not easy. It will take diligence and commitment to learn how to live a life that is marked by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with the Lord. We must daily choose to yield ourselves to God in these areas. The more we intentionally strive to build these life areas into habits, the more proficient we will be in successfully living them.
