Justice…Mercy…Humility
Over the last few weeks, I have been pondering the Bible verse,
“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.” from Micah 6:8.
The current state of being within our communities, whether friendships, work, family, church, etc., seems to be deeply mired in the mud and muck of bitterness and dissension. Division, lack of understanding, the unwillingness to listen and have meaningful conversations are tearing apart the fabric of what humans need and how God created us to live: in peaceful community with others. I have been thinking about what the Lord meant in this verse and how we can apply it to our lives right now.
Is it merely virtue signaling when we throw these terms around or they actual virtues to live by?
When we speak these words without any action behind them, it becomes virtue signaling. When we wear the Bible verse on a shirt, or publish it as a quote on our social media and not follow it up with the actual practice of doing what’s right, showing mercy, and being humble, it’s virtue signaling. Living out true virtue requires sacrifice and the willingness to endure hardship. If you have found yourself to be in a situation where you must show another individual mercy, most likely you are also experiencing hurt. Mercy requires the act of forgiveness on a certain level. Depending on the depth of the hurt that has been experienced, a large dose of mercy may be what’s needed to heal a fractured relationship.
So what does it mean to actually practice the virtues of justice, mercy, and humility? Today’s Monday meditation takes a small look into this question. I certainly don’t have the be-all, end-all answer to this question, but I can tell you how I am trying to live them out.
Justice- I love the way World Vision described justice. Biblical references to the word “justice” mean “to make right.” Justice is, first and foremost, a relational term — people living in right relationship with God, one another, and the natural creation. From a scriptural point of view, justice means loving our neighbor as we love ourselves and is rooted in the character and nature of God. As God is just and loving, so we are called to do justice and live in love.
Justice doesn’t mean to demand for others to right a wrong. It doesn’t call for us to always point out the sins or moral degradation of others. Rather, the finger points at us to personally choose to do what’s right when it comes to interacting with others, even when it’s hard. It’s sacrificial, remember? Sure, it is the right thing to do to call out the injustice that we see in this world, but before you speak too many words, have you inspected your own heart and mind for behavior that is less than righteous? Have you fixed the injustices that you have afflicted on others, no matter how insignificant they seem, before you loudly call out the injustices of others? If not, your words and your fight for justice become hallow and shallow. The Lord’s definition of justice requires that we examine ourselves first before we start pointing out the sins of others.
Mercy- Mercy triumphs over judgment when we take a deeper look at God’s lovingkindness to us. How many times have we messed up and then begged for His forgiveness and feeling relieved knowing that the Lord’s mercy has been poured on us through the death of Jesus? Mercy is forgiveness, compassion, and kindness in its most purest form. It is given without malice, contempt, or regret. It is so easy to judge the wrongdoing of others and hold them harshly accountable, and yet when we require forgiveness, we seek the deep love that only mercy can bring. Why is it that we require harsh punishment for others and yet seek little retribution for ourselves?
Mercy does not overlook the wrongdoing, rather it corrects with an air of compassion. We are all sinners and fall short, and yet God is merciful to us. As fallible humans, we aren’t perfect and the painful things that are done to us or others can make the act of mercy feel impossible. When we find ourselves in this predicament, mercy means that we prevent the anger and bitterness from taking root and give our hurt to the Lord. It’s only through Him that we can show true forgiveness and compassion for the one who has caused us unspeakable pain.
Humble- To “be humble” is the adjective that describes a person or thing that is modest, simple or lowly. Humble can also function as a verb: one can humble oneself, which means to bring oneself low, behave modestly, or make oneself vulnerable. Humility, on the other hand, though it means the same thing, is an attribute, which makes it a noun. Humility is an attitude that focuses on service to others rather than service to self.
When we care for and serve others in such a way that lifts them above ourselves, we show that we can be humble. To care more for the well-being of others than for our own well-being requires sacrifice, especially if it’s being directed at someone that we are in conflict. When we do this, we are humbling ourselves before the Lord. When we go out of our way to serve others without requiring gratitude or payment in return, we are demonstrating our humility. Again, to be humble and to show humility to someone undeserving of these actions can be incredibly difficult but it means that we are trying to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Time and time again, Jesus showed humility to others, even to those who would turn on Him. While we are not Jesus, we can still strive to put others before us, serve those we don’t like, and care for those that sometimes cause us pain.
Justice, Mercy, and Humility Require Sacrifice to Self and for Others.
Simply put, but difficult (but not entirely impossible) to live out, these virtues require us to dig deep, to focus upward, and to forge ahead when it’s the hardest to do. You know you are living this out when you find yourself having an internal battle on whether or not you should take a certain action such as doing the right thing, offering forgiveness, or giving selflessly. If it feels hard, if it is a struggle, then you know you are on the right path of living out Micah 6:8.