He has shown us what is good and required!

Micah 6:8 KJV says, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”

God has shown us what is good and what is required of us.  And that is to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him.  Seems simple enough to me.  But, I like to break things down sometime to help me understand it even more.

First of all, He has shown us. This means that He has proclaimed, expounded on and declared it.  Where?  In His Word! The Word of God shows us how we must live our lives.

He has shown us what is good.  The Word of God shows us the things that are appropriate and becoming for us.  It also show us how to act in order for us to be happy and prosperous.  It helps is have an understand in how we should speak, act and dress.  It is rich in wisdom.  It lays out for us what we should do to be pure, morally good and upright.

He has also shown us what is required of us.  We must do justly…love mercy…and walk humbly with Him:

What does it mean to do justly?  This means that we are to conform to a standard of holy living.  1 Peter 1:15-16 says, “ But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written , Be ye holy; for I am holy.”  Jesus is our example.  He has called us to a purpose.  And just as He, who has called us is holy, we are to strive to be holy in everything that we do.  All holiness is, is conforming to the will and nature of God.  And, it has to start on the inside, in the heart.  Once you get holiness down on the inside, it overflows to the outside.

Also, we must love mercy.  In other words, we must love goodness, kindness and faithfulness.  When you love something, you boast or talk it up.  In Psalm 34:2, it says, “My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.”   We need to fall in love with His merciful goodness, kindness and faithfulness and boast about it.  Psalm 107:31 says, “ Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”  Psalm 117:2 says, “For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.”  And, Psalm 89:1 says, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.” Praise Him and sing of His mercy!  Tell others what a great God you serve!

And last but certainly not least, walk humbly with Him.  Well, to be humble means to NOT be arrogant, proud, haughty or showy.  In Romans 12:3 (NIRV), it says, “…Don't think of yourself more highly than you should. Be reasonable when you think about yourself…”  And, Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)  says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”  And, Proverbs 13:10 (MSG) says, “Arrogant know-it-alls stir up discord, but wise men and women listen to each other's counsel.”  Those that are humble are not likely to conduct themselves in a way that draws attention to themselves.  The humble will endure with patience and without complaining or resentment. The humble will take correction and apply the necessary changes without grumbling and taking offence.  Now, the Hebrew Lexicon defines humbly as “humble, modest”.  I have already given a definition for humble, but what does it mean to be modest?  To be modest is to be free from inappropriate, unreasonable, unchaste and indecent behavior.  Our behavior involves more that just how we act.  It involves our attitudes, manners, habits, fashion or attire, and speech.  All those areas of our life need to reverberate modesty…being appropriate, reasonable, chaste and decent. 

Appropriate -  In proverbs 21:3 KJV it says, “To do justice and judgment is more acceptable (appropriate) to the LORD than sacrifice.”  In the MSG it says, “Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance.” 

Chaste - I Peter 3:2 says, “While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.”  People need to see that our manner or life is pure from carnality and see that it is coupled with a reverence for God.

Reasonable – Romans 12:1 (KJV) says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”  I love what the MSG says, “So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”

Decent – To be decent means to conform to a high standard or morality or virtue.  Our attitudes, manners, habits, attire/fashion and speech needs to conform to a high standard or morality or virtue.  It needs to be suitable, marked by graciousness, pleasing to the Lord, free from obscenity, right-minded and principled. 

Now, I know that all that info may seem redundant, but in reality, the Word of God intertwines its principles.  They all connect in one way or another.  I guess that is why I love to study the Word of God and simplify it.  I have the opportunity to see a verse differently and it always can be applied to what I may be going through at the time. I cherish the Word of God and I am SO thankful for the privilege to have it so readily available any time that I need it.  ♥