What Does God Require, part 2

‎He has showed you, O man, what is good. 

‎And what does the Lord require of you? 

‎To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

‎Micah 6:8

And what does the Lord require of you? One thing is to act justly ... do justice ...  do justly.  No matter what situation or circumstance we encounter, at all times, on every occasion, we are called to act justly.  You may be thinking, is this like doing the right thing? Yes, it is.  Sometimes, knowing the right thing to do or how to respond justly and with fairness is just not clear.  We may just not know, or not have enough time to think about it.

Consider King Solomon whom God described as the wisest man who ever lived. See 1 Kings 3:16-28 for this story. Two prostitutes came before him.  Both had given birth to sons three days apart.  One baby died during the night as his mother rolled over on him.  Each argued that the live child was hers. What was he to do? Who to believe? How to act justly?

King Solomon called for a sword and ordered that the living child be cut in two. Half would be given to one and half to the other.  The woman whose son was alive, filled with compassion, responded: “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!” The other responded: “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!” 

In the king's ruling lay the wisdom from God to act justly. “Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.”  Now your question may be, will God give little ole, plain and ordinary me the wisdom to act justly in every way, at all times, on all occasions, no matter what's going on? Yes, He will! So go forth in the power of God doing what God requires of you.  Act justly!!!

What Does God Require, part 1

‎He has showed you, O man, what is good. 

‎And what does the Lord require of you? 

‎To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

‎Micah 6:8

Through His Word, God has shown us what is good and what He requires in every situation and circumstance, and with every relationship.  We are faced daily with so many choices. God quietly shows us in His Word what is good.  The world blares out and bombards us with its notions of what is good.  All too often, the two ways are in conflict.  When the two are in conflict, what choice do you most often make?  Is it good the world's way or is it good God's way?  Favored words from my pastor -- life is choice driven; we live and we die by the choices we make.  To help us with the many choices before us may be a continuing focus on the question -- if Jesus were in my shoes, what would He do? To answer that question knowingly requires that we be disciples, i.e., students of the Word. 

My friend, with whom I've shared many meals eating the world's way, has recently had open heart surgery.  One good thing I can do to assist recovery is deliver a meal once per week. What should that meal be?  Convenient fast food? Home cooked, deep fat fried, over salted, over sugared foods we've always enjoyed? What would Jesus do?  Another friend is dating a married man.  How would Jesus respond to my friend?  Yet another friend has joined what I believe to be a cult and is now inviting me to check it out.  How do I respond?  How would Jesus respond?  Another friend has been dating this wonderful man who is now pressuring her to have sex to show that she really loves him.  She's asking what would I do.  Will my response be the Jesus response?  How do you discipline your children, God's way or the world's way?  Surely God can understand that my living expenses must be covered before a tithe can be paid to the church.  My friend trips over her foot and falls in my home, breaking her ankle.  With no insurance, she wants me to pay her full medical expense and will sue me if I don't do so. How would Jesus respond?

Good the world's way or God's way?  Which will it be for you?