Life has requirements. We know a lot of them up front. Job requirements are listed out and gone over before the job is taken. Legal requirements are explained and understood. Financial requirements are evaluated before a home is purchased or credit is given. Activities have fitness requirements. Rides have height requirementents. Parents have age requirements.
A requirement simply asks this, "Do you have what it takes to be involved?" It asks you to take a look at who you are and weigh yourself against what it will cost. Can you pay that? Can you give that?
Sometimes, we are quick to confirm that we meet those requirements in our pride and desires. We hurry through the roller coaster line without stopping to check height at the gate. We borrow money for a new car without checking our budget to see if we can afford it. We apply for jobs we aren't qualified for because the pay is attractive. As kids, we jumped at the chance to do something with an older group to prove that we could handle ourselves.
If we do not consider the requirements, our decisions can cost us a lot.
There are also things that we are not told up front. We are not told at the beginning of the year how much we will owe in taxes at the end of it. A police officer does not hold up a sign as he pulls up behind you with the amount of money the fine for the ticket will be. Many times, a doctor's office cannot tell you up front how much a procedure will cost you, before or after insurance.
Even in my short adulthood, I have learned to fear all three of those examples. I do not like not knowing what is required of me. I want to be told up front what something will cost.
God asks us to walk by faith, and He doesn't list out what will happen in our lives in advance. However, He is not unfair or unreasonable. He does tell us in advance what pleasing Him will cost.
Micah 6:8: "What does the Lord require of you? To act justly. To love mercy. To walk humbly with your God."
I like to call verses like this "Sum-up Scriptures." They take philsophies and ideas that are lengthily explained throughout the rest of the Bible and just say it. "This is what the Lord requires of you."
On the surface, it looks too easy. In fact, when you consider what God has done to have this relationship with us, it is too easy. However, as my pastor is fond of reminding us, "The harder you live for God, the easier it is." While it takes only a few seconds to read that sentence, a close examination of it is in order. After all, it is God's requirements of us.
Act Justly
This speaks to our outward actions and inward thoughts. It asks us to search us. It asks us to put our own hearts and minds under a microscope and evaluate our motives and incentives for doing what we do. Are we just? Are we fair? Are we honest? God sees every decision we make and every thought we think. He is simply asking us to take a hard look at each one. This other Sum-Up Scripture applies here as well:
Titus 2:12: "We should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world."
Don't get your cues on how to respond from how others act. You don't decide how to respond to a situation because of what your neighbor did. "I'm going to go burn down her house because she burned down mine!" NO! Your actions procede from your heart. YOU choose how you act! Choose to act justly.
Love Mercy
This is where the "others" come into play. Though we search our hearts and act justly, not everyone around us will do the same. We still must respond with mercy. We must treat others the way we want to be treated. We must be kind. We must be forgiving. We must shove the indignation that rises within us back down, remember we are all family, and treat those around us with respect.
I would like to say that this "Love Mercy" command does not mean that you allow people to walk all over you and you never stand up for yourself. That is not "acting justly" to yourself. People's actions should have consequences. Here's a scenario for example:
Friend A and Friend B are close. Friend A develops a drug problem and goes through all of their money. Friend B knows that Friend A is living on the street and gives Friend A money to buy groceries. Friend A doesn't buy groceries. Instead, Friend A buys drugs. Friend B finds out, but says nothing. Friend A then repeatedly comes to Friend B for more money.
Most of us would immediately say, "Friend B! Stop giving them more money! You're just enabling them!" We would be correct, however, the black and white we see right now becomes more gray when it is our friend or family member who is using us. We struggle to find that balance between MERCY and ENABLING. May I quietly suggest that if you find yourself unable to find the line, ask your pastor for help.
Moving on.
Walk Humbly With Your God
In my twenty-two years of living for God, I have learned this: it's a daily walk. There's never a day that I wake up and say, "Ah, I have arrived!" Until I reach Heaven, there is no day that I don't have to get up and walk.
So first we must walk: a dogged, committed, daily, whatever-it-takes walk.
We must also walk HUMBLY. Our biggest enemy is pride. One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis is this: "Forget your pride. What have you to be proud of?" Too often, we find ourselves getting puffed up about inconsequential things. Too often, we allow pride to come in the back door in forms we do not immediately recognize.
Competition: I'M as good as they are!
Anger: How dare they do that to ME!
Judgmentalism: I would have done it like this!
Self-consciousness: I can't let them see ME like this.
Fear: What if I can't measure up?
Each of these problems stem from pride. Maybe that is why, of all the adverbs God could have used to describe this walk, HE chose "Humbly." Keep your pride in check.
Finally, we must also walk WITH God.
Not in front of Him.
Not behind Him.
Not away from Him.
Putting your feet where His feet are leading.
Being involved in what He is involved in (MINISTRY!).
Caring about what He cares about.
Holding tightly to His hand through it all.
We cannot get distracted and foget Who we are walking beside. We cannot forget Who brought us this far and will take us farther still. We must keep the main thing the main thing and not allow distractions to pull us away from what really matters.
So, can you meet His requirements? Only you can search your heart and answer that question. Only you can decide to put your hand to the plough and not look back (Luke 9:62). The beautiful thing about serving God is that you are not required to do this alone. Remember, He is walking with you. He is both our lawyer (advocate) and our judge. He will not only defend you, but He will judge in your favor. You must, however, keep walking with your hand gripping tightly to His.
