“He has shown 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.” - Micah 6: 8 (NIV)

I am a simple man. I even wrote a book called Leading From the Sandbox. You don’t get much more simple than that. So I love it when life can be clarified in a simple, clear way. This is exactly what the Lord does in these verses, where He defines what is good by His standards and what He requires of those who are His people: To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. No matter who we are or what our responsibilities are, all of us can do these three things. They are God’s requirements for His people.

All three of the Hebrew words in this text are colorful and rich in meaning. The Hebrew word for “justice” here is mishpat. It means to treat people equitable regardless of race or social status. It also means that we are to give people their rights, which often does not happen because some people have more power than other people in society. 

The Old Testament often speaks of “widows, orphans and immigrants” as people who are vulnerable in society because their rights are easily trampled on. In our day, it might include the elderly, immigrants, war refugees, the homeless, single parents and racial groups. The justice of an individual or of a society is defined by how we treat those who are vulnerable and cannot defend themselves - by our commitment to defend the powerless and oppressed.  

Add to this the concept of mercy, or hesed in Hebrew. This word is often translated as “loving kindness” and sums up all the love, forgiveness, compassion, kindness, gentleness, and care of our God toward us. You can see the direct correlation between mishpat or “acting justly” with hesed, or “loving kindness.” One cannot have this loving kindness toward those around them without also always “acting justly” and defending the cause of the vulnerable in society. The two go together.

What makes this all possible? It is the third characteristic that God requires from us, which is to walk humbly with our God. Walking humbly with God is about living a life where our pride is supplanted by our humility. Where we set aside our way and choose to follow God in all things. It is a simple, humble life of obedience to the Father.

Think about the society we would have, and the quality of our relationships, if we daily chose to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. With one another, we would see a radical change in relationships as we honored one another. And with God, we would be living a life that pleases Him as we intentionally choose to follow Him in all things. It is this latter quality that makes the first two qualities possible because they are not our first inclination. This is to live like Jesus lived.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for making Your Word so practical and yet so profound at the same time. As I interact with others today, remind me of Your requirements of acting justly and loving mercy. As I make decisions today, remind me to humbly choose Your way over my way. Give me Your heart in these three areas. Amen.