He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
Sometimes it seems very difficult to know exactly what God desires from us. We think about controversial areas in life and wonder what God really thinks about them. We have relationships that are confusing to us and we want to know God’s intention for the relationship. Yes, there are occasions when we need to take the time to seriously pray, search Scripture, and seek counsel from wise leaders and friends to understand God’s heart and design.
Understanding and applying this verse is not one of those times. It is really pretty straight forward: 1) do justice, 2) love kindness, and 3) walk humbly with your God. Enacting them in our lives is challenging, especially if we don’t take the time to really focus. The key to the first two items is the third, “walk humbly with your God.”
What do you do when you walk with a friend, a roommate, or a professor across campus? Does that take a great deal of energy and intention to do that? Don’t you talk with one another and listen to one another? You may share with one another about a class, a question, a problem, an idea, plans for the weekend, a relationship, something that made you laugh, something that made you angry, something that made you want to cry, etc….
Can you do that with God? Do you understand what it means to be with God? Let’s not make this harder than it is, but let’s certainly put it into action and walk with Him. God desires that we walk with Him, not in arrogance or pride, but humbly. Walk with Him with an awareness of who you are--His child and His friend!!
With that kind of relationship you are able to do justice because you have talked over the situation with the one who defines justice (and it has to be His justice). With regular walking with God, you are empowered to love kindness. Look at Jesus’ demeanor with the world that had its major problems. He was kind as He loved. He was gracious and just!!
What about you? How can you make an adjustment in your thinking about your relationship with God so that you are walking humbly with Him? What is he asking you to do in terms of justice and kindness? These are the marks of a Biblical man--humility, kindness, and justice. How will you enact these qualities with others as you walk with God today?