When you look into scripture you find that the Lord does have some requirements for us. But they really aren’t difficult, actually they are quite simple: “… to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” What I find amazing is that we have to be told them in the first place.
But what do those 3 requirements mean? ‘to do justly’… Just means right or fair, correct or true – righteous. Now we see the full impact of the word. We are to be right and fair in our dealings with others. We are not to only look out for our own best interests when we interact – we are to be fair to the other person as well as ourselves. We are to be righteous. If you remember the definition it means to be in right standing. These words do dictate how we are to act and who we are to be.
‘to love mercy’… In its simplest definition, mercy means: a refraining from harming, a disposition to forgive or be kind. And this is what we are to love. Mercy may conjure up a picture of a benevolent you dispensing your favor. But it is incredibly more. A disposition to forgive is a mindset that controls and dictates your words and actions.
‘and to walk humbly with your God.’ We really aren’t particularly good at ‘humble’. There’s false humility, of course, but that’s far from this. I suspect the word, humble, has a negative connotation depicting obsequious behavior. This is not what humble means. Again, in its simplest form, I think to walk humble is to acknowledge who God is and who you are in relation to Him.
