The book of Micah is not very well known to most of us, not even to those of us who are preachers.  But there are a few verses in this short book which are well known to most people.  One of them is the prophecy that the Messiah would be born in the little town of Bethlehem.  Another one is the verse I have chosen for my text.  “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?”

    Since most of you who receive this newsletter are basically the workers in our churches, you might join me in looking at the first of these requirements of God as being easy to check off the list.  We are the pastors and other staff members, and their wives.  We are the Sunday School directors and teachers, deacons, W.M.U. leaders and workers.  We are the ones who fill the classes and the church services.  We are the ones who provide the material and spiritual support that make our churches able to carry out their work.  We take the church and the Word seriously, trying daily to be obedient to the Lord.  So when God says He expects us to “do justly,” which is to exhibit a basic rightness rooted in God’s Character, we don’t have a problem.  We know we are not perfect, but we are trying.  And many of us have made a lot of progress in our journey toward Christlikeness.

    But when we come to the second requirement, we are not so sure.  What does it mean “to love mercy”?   Mercy involves an element of pity, of kindness, toward others.  We might say, “OK, check off requirement  number two!”  But often we don’t really measure up, because there is the tendency when we consider that we are “doing justly” to begin to look down our noses at those who are not doing so.  And we can become very judgmental toward those who are not even trying.  We even tend to forget that a few short years, or months, ago, we were in the same condition they are in now.  So the second requirement grows out of the first requirement, and the ever present tendency to feel superior.  God expects us to do right.  He also expects us to remember that we did not and do not always do right, so that we can show mercy to those who have not yet started on the journey, or who have faltered along the way.  Seen from that perspective, it may not be as easy to check off this requirement.

    But let’s suppose we do manage to control our disdain for those who have not reached our level of understanding and maturity.  Let’s suppose we actually have a love and concern for them, so that we show mercy in our judgment.  What is the next requirement?  It is “to walk humbly with thy God.”   It is right here that pride often trips us up.  If we are seriously trying to live according to God’s teachings, and if we have really worked at developing a merciful rather than judgmental attitude toward others, we often begin to feel very pleased with ourselves.  We tend to think we are better than others.  We might even feel that we are more deserving of God’s love and favor than others.  We need to remember that God moves in mercy and in grace in our lives.  We must avoid thinking, “There, but for my effort and dedication, go I” and constantly remind ourselves, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”  Only then can we begin to walk humbly with our God.