This Scripture is quoted often when social justice and the Church meet. Many a mission experiences have emblazoned these words on t-shirts, logos, buses, programs and training handouts.
And rightly so. There is great power packed into these few words, and we can be refocused on Micah’s Mantra, God’s Mantra, our own mantra:
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Three things are all God asks of us.
- Do right.
- Love mercy.
- Walk humbly.
Three things. Six words. Simple, right?
Do right. We love to do the right thing, most of the time. Even more, when it comes to the poor and people we encounter with a need, we want to meet and fix those needs. In the US, it is very easy to meet most material needs we see. After all, those are the needs we see.
But what about the unseen?
Love mercy. Jesus showed it to us. “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” He took our place. More than simply “doing right,” how can we take the place of someone else? How can we show compassion to those in need?
Walk humbly. For every time I have thought, “That need is easy to fix,” my head hangs lower now. Many of these quick fixes are so deeply ingrained — in our personalities, in our social culture, in our economic system, in generational poverty. We are beyond the easy fix. We must walk humbly, remembering the significance of our words and our work, and the ever-changing landscape in front of us.
So we do right, whenever and wherever we can; loving mercy and looking for the deeper meaning of the circumstances we face; and walking humbly, knowing we might not have the perfect way, and easiest isn’t always best.
Go: do right, love mercy, walk humbly.
Catch up with the rest of the Toxic Charity Series and check back later this week for more!
