What Does the Lord Require?

“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

Some folks think that living for the Lord is too difficult, that He demands the impossible or takes all the ‘”fun” out of life.  However, the opposite is true.  Living for and with the Lord within one’s heart is the best and most fulfilling life that one can have.  Those who disagree have nothing to base their objections upon because they have never experienced the peace, freedom, and joy which is available to those who believe and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Unbelievers do not understand that God only has the best in mind for His people.  He really doesn’t ask much.  As far as behavior and lifestyle go, He doesn’t ask for anything that people do not desire from one another.

God requires that we do justly, that is, that we always do the right thing.  Our human justice system is based on God’s law which is the perfect standard by which men and women are to conduct their lives, not to earn salvation or His favor, but to work out the salvation that God provides by grace through faith (Philippians 2:12).  It’s not just believers whom God expects to do justly, but all people.  However, it is easier for those who know Christ to do justly because they have the help of the Holy Spirit within to guide them in their daily activities and in relationship to others.  We serve a perfect God.  To ignore the warnings and promptings of the Holy Spirit that is given to us as a helper and comforter can lead to sin and disrupt our relationship with the Lord.

Most people, even if they are not a follower of the Lord, 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.  In our current day, we have seen the deterioration of our justice system in our nation.  People are committing all sorts of crimes and not being appropriately punished, even for serious crimes like assault and robbery.  Paul wrote in Romans 13:3-4 that rulers are the ministers of God, revengers to execute wrath upon those who do evil.  When they fail to do so, everyone suffers.  They are not to punish inappropriately, but neither are they to allow criminals to have free reign over the community.

God also requires us to love mercy.  Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount that “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).  Don’t we all desire mercy for our own mistakes?  Having mercy for others means to be kind and understanding of them, even though we may think they don’t deserve it.  We don’t deserve God’s mercy, but that doesn’t stop Him from showering His gracious mercy on us.  Someone came up with simple definitions of grace and mercy.  Grace is getting what we don’t deserve while mercy is not getting what we do deserve.  Usually when someone makes a mistake that causes us a problem, we 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 show no mercy.  Is that how they would like to be responded to if they were the ones who made a mistake?  Of course not.  What we term the golden rule is a good way to show mercy.  Jesus said for us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us (Matthew 7:12).

Last, but certainly not least, God requires us to walk humbly with Him.  Some folks think that showing humility is a sign of weakness, but humility is actually an absence of pride.  Pride is the trait in people which causes the most harm in relation to the Lord.  God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13) because, in simple terms, the prideful man or woman says that he or she can be good enough on his or her own, that he or she doesn’t need God.  We have folks today who are coming up with all sorts of beliefs, policies, and ideas that are antithetical to God’s standards.  It is as if they are shaking their fists in God’s face and telling Him that they have a better way than His way.  I would rather be around a humble person, one who is genuinely compassionate, thoughtful, and trustworthy, than to be in the company of someone who thinks more highly of himself or herself than he or she should (Romans 12:3), you know, the person with the huge ego that constantly has to be fed.

To do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God are not difficult requirements when Christ rules our hearts.