Justice, Mercy, and Humility

“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 6:8

While there are plenty of folks who believe serving God would be such a difficult way of life, they really do not understand that God only has the best in mind for His people.  He really doesn’t ask for anything that He doesn’t provide.  The manner of life with which He desires for us to live is basically how we desire for others to live.  God asks us to “do justly”.  Most people have a sense of justice.  They get angry when they see someone being mistreated, someone being taken advantage of, or someone getting away with some sort of wrongdoing.  They want justice.  They want fairness.  Our justice system is based on God’s law which is the perfect standard by which man is to conduct his life, not to earn salvation, but to work out the salvation that God provides by grace through faith (Philippians 2:12).

God asks us to love mercy.  Don’t we all desire mercy for our own mistakes?  If we want mercy, we must be merciful to others (Matthew 5:7).  When someone accidentally makes a mistake that causes us a problem, what do we usually say?  “Don’t worry about it.  It’s OK.  We can straighten it out.”  Of course, not everyone is merciful.  Some fly off the handle and pitch a fit.  Is that the response that they would like if they were the ones who made a mistake?  Of course not.  I am reminded of the account of the servant who owed his employer a vast sum of money.  The employer, a king, planned to sell him and his family into slavery, but the servant begged him to give him time to pay him back.  The king had mercy on him and forgave the debt.  The servant then went out and found a man who owed him a tiny sum.  The debtor begged him, just like he had begged the king, to give him more time.  The servant had no mercy on him, but had him thrown into debtor’s prison until he paid back the debt.  (How would he be able to do that if he was locked up?)  When the king found out how mercilessly his servant had treated his fellow man, he had the servant locked up and tormented until he paid back what was owed to the king.  So I suppose it was a life sentence.

Thirdly, God asks us to walk humbly with Him.  Most folks think highly of a person of humility.  They also respect one who is loyal.  It is much more pleasant to be around a humble person, one who is genuinely compassionate, thoughtful, and trustworthy, rather than to be in the company of those who have big egos and whose favorite subject of conversation is themselves.  It has been my observation when striking up a conversation with a stranger that I pretty much know a good deal about them by the end of the conversation, but they know nothing about me, because very few people reciprocate.  Of course, that’s fine with me.  I’m like one of my uncles who “didn’t volunteer much information”, if you know what I mean.  Humility means an absence of pride, putting the needs of others ahead of your own,  being modest, and displaying meekness, the ability to maintain one’s integrity and honor in any situation.  It is always preferable to humble yourself (I Peter 5:6) rather than letting others do it for you.  To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God are not difficult requirements when Christ rules our hearts.