| MARCH 1, 2023 -- He has shown you, O mortal, 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
I have referred to this quote from the prophet Micah at least four times before. Frankly, it is one of my favorite bible passages, and every time I read it I get new meaning from it. A few simple words, but very profound when we meditate on them. Remember also that this was pulled through two languages before it got to us, and that “act justly”, “love mercy”, and “walk humbly” might mean different things to different people at different times and in different places. In our meditations we should look at all the different possible interpretations of these words.
To act justly is to seek and strive for equality, fairness, and rightness, in a world which surrounds us with inequality, unfairness, and lack of rightness. An impossible task? Perhaps impossible that we will be asks of us is to strive for these goals. Whatever gains we make in this regard are all for the good.
What is it to love mercy? This one is a bit difficult. Mercy doesn’t mean letting injustice prevail. To some extent it means to exert full- hearted forgiveness for any who repent of what they have done wrong, or of those who do not know they have done wrong, or to guide people to realize what they have done wrong and guide them into new and better ways.
Finally, what does it mean to walk humbly with God? To me it starts with the realization that God is our maker and sustainer, and that all the good things we have are a gift from God. Then I try to remember that we are placed on this Earth as stewards of God’s creation, and are charged with sustaining and preserving that creation, including the care of our fellow human beings. Lastly I try to avoid boasting about all the good particularly virtuous. Especially I try to avoid false humility, a trap all too easy to fall into. True humility involves being open to others, listening to them, acknowledging our mistakes and failures, and focusing on helping others.
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