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Three words to live by — a retired pastor’s reflections

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A Bible verse that continually challenges me, and which I seek to be guided by in my life, is Micah 6:8: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

This is not merely a wise recommendation to us; it is what the Lord requires of us. If we are sincere in our desire to walk rightly with God, we need to be sincere in our quest to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. 

The Cambridge Dictionary defines justice as “fairness in the way people are dealt with.” Another definition is “a concern for fairness, peace and genuine respect for people.” 

Mercy has been defined as “kindness that makes you forgive someone.” It has also been defined as “the compassionate treatment of those in need.” Belden Lane points out, “The word mercy in the Hebrew scriptures comes from the Hebrew word for uterus, rachmim. It’s the motherly love of a woman treasuring the child born of her own body.” 

The root of our English word “humble” comes from the Latin word “humus,” meaning “earth.” The best way to perceive of a humble person is as a down-to-earth person. The opposite of humility is arrogance. Booker T. Washington remarked, “There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.” An arrogant person pushes others down; a humble person lifts others up.

Micah 6:8 puts these three virtues together because they are intricately connected to one another. We cannot “do justice” (practice “fairness in the way people are dealt with”) without mercy and humbleness. We cannot “love mercy” (“the compassionate treatment of those in need”) without justice and humbleness. We cannot walk humbly with our God without practicing justice and mercy. 

Justice without mercy is cold-hearted legalism, even tyranny. Thomas Aquinas defined mercy without justice as “the mother of dissolution” [life dissolving into parts; life without integrity].

Pope Francis stressed that mercy “is the best thing we can feel; it changes the world. A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”

The quest to walk rightly with God is a quest to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.  

Editor’s note: Tom Tripp is a retired pastor. Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

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