Micah 6:8

Scripture:

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?

Devotion:

The three requirements Micah names map directly onto the life Psalm 112 describes. To do justice is the same impulse that leads the man in verse 5 to conduct his affairs with justice and lend generously. To love kindness, the Hebrew word hesed, is the same steadfast, covenant love that shapes the way the righteous man deals with others throughout the psalm. To walk humbly with your God is the ground of everything, because the humility to receive correction and direction from God is what keeps religious activity from becoming hollow routine. 

Micah is drawing a straight line between who God is and what a life shaped by that God looks like in the marketplace, in relationships, in the quiet choices nobody sees. The man of Psalm 112 is not described as someone who has mastered a moral framework. He is described as someone who walks with God, and the way he conducts his affairs, gives to the poor, and holds his heart steady in hard times is the evidence of that walk showing up in the world around him. 

HEAR about it:

Explain:

What connection do you see between Micah 6:8 and Psalm 112? What new light does it shed on the main passage? Where do you see justice, kindness, and humility showing up in your own life, and where are they still taking shape?

Prayer and Reflection:

Take a few minutes to sit quietly and reflect on the passage you read today. Let the Holy Spirit bring to mind what stood out to you and why. Then spend some time in prayer. Pray for the people around you, for your outlook on this day, and for the needs you are carrying in your own life.

God, You have told me what is good, and I cannot claim I did not know. Give me the courage today to do justice where it is inconvenient, to love kindness toward people who have not earned it, and to walk humbly in the moments when I would rather walk confidently in my own direction. Let the fear of You be the thing that actually orders my steps. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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