Micah 6:8 (NIV)
He has showed you, O man, what is
good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
The book of Micah is part of the Old
Testament 12 minor prophet books. This
verse probably is its most famous verse along with Micah 5:2 that prophesied
Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. While most of
Micah is aimed at the nations of Judah and Samaria and the city of Jerusalem
and its impending destruction if the people would not repent of their sins,
chapter 6 is aimed at individuals.
Micah 6:8 clearly states three requirements
that the Lord has of His people—act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. These three requirements fit with other
passages of Scripture that teach about God’s people to reverence Him, love him,
and serve Him by serving others.
Act Justly
Justice means to be fair, to give your best
to God and to others. Adam Clarke, a
British Methodist theologian in the early 1800s, wrote that to act justly means
to give God His due (love God with all your heart, body, soul, and mind), to
give your neighbor his due (love your neighbor as yourself), and give yourself
what you are due (avoid sins of the flesh and be filled with the fruit of the
Holy Spirit—Galatians 5:19-23).
Love Mercy
The Hebrew word for mercy (“checed”) means
“goodness, kindness, faithfulness”, three of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
(Galatians 5:22). You are to love to be
good and kind and faithful (sincere) to others.
As God shows mercy to you by forgiving you of your sins, you are to show
mercy to others and forgive them as well.
Walk Humbly
To walk humbly is to act as a humble
person. To be humble is to follow the
example of Christ that is best described in Philippians 2:3-4--“Don’t be
selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better
than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest
in others, too”.
All these requirements of God are not easy
to practice, are they? Yet, all
Christians must try their best, through prayer and study and asking the Holy
Spirit to lead them everyday to practice these three noble acts. Ask God to reveal to you where you need to be
more just, more merciful, and more humble. Is there anyone in your life who you
see practice these truths from whom you can emulate? Is there anyone in your life to whom you can
perform an act of kindness without them knowing? Is there any source of pride in your life
that you know you need to turn over to the Lord?
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