What doth the Lord require of thee?

Micah 6:8 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?

There are many creeds, doctrines, and beliefs that bring human reasoning into the question "What doth the Lord require of thee?". First, our human nature typically spins the question to "What doth the Lord require of ________? (fill in the name of someone else). Another spin we typically put on it - figure out what we want to do then find scripture to justify what we want to do. Yet another spin is to do what we want to do then ask "Where can you find thou shalt not ________ (fill in the blank) in the Bible?".

Micah specifically lays out three three things that the Lord requires of us. A requirement is not a suggestion. A requirement is needed, essential, and is a condition for meeting a goal. If heaven is our goal, we are required to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. Let's take a look at them individually:


Do Justly

The human tendency - make excuses for our actions, blaming our reaction to other events/people. However, this requirement requires a lot of self examination. No finger pointing is allowed here. The word just means lawful - God's Word is our law and we are to abide by the Word. If someone else breaks the law, we still have to follow the law. If we break the law, we have to correct the problem the lawful or Biblical way. For problem solving, see Joshua 22 & Matthew 18.

Love Mercy

It is way too easy to become self righteous and lift ones self up above others. We put on our "robes of righteousness" and think that our wardrobe gives us judicial authority. With gavel in hand, you can bang on the old sounding block, making a lot of noise and giving out guilty judgments against anyone who doesn't see things the way you do. This is not mercy!

Mercy can be defined as not getting what you deserve. God sent his Son to extend mercy to the lost - you and me. By accepting Jesus, we are accepting the mercy of God on our eternal soul. As true Christians, we are striving to be Christ-like, and should be extending mercy to people even though we may not think they deserve it. A great example in the Bible is Jonah who finally went to Nineveh to preach but then expected God to pass judgment even though the city repented of their sins. God used a gourd to help Jonah see the error of his way.

Walk Humbly

Humility is often missing from the Christian walk and many are led astray because of their own pride. Looking at current conditions in congregations, I sometimes reflect on what might be different if men had humbled themselves and made minor corrections. If the element of humility is missing from your walk with God, then it seems to be impossible to do justly and love mercy.

Webster defines the word humble as expressing a spirit of submission, ranking low in a hierarchy or scale, and not being proud or haughty. Ephesians 5:21 tells us to submit to one another. 1 Peter 5:5 instructs us to be subject one to another.

To help us really grasp the words of Micah, we need to be asking our self this question - What does the Lord require of me?