Simple Requirements

At 5:15 this morning my alarm clicked on & my ipod glowed in its stand as music filled the air. I love waking up to music--so much more motivating than the annoying, incessant blaring buzz of a typical alarm. Insead of being ripped from my slumber in anger & annoyance, I am calmly awakened by a whisper of one of my favorite songs.

This morning, dreamland & reality met breifly as the words of Micah 6:8 filled the room. The words of the song traveled with me as I hit the snooze & drifted back into dreamland: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; & what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, & to love mercy, & to walk humbly with thy God?" I couldn't get those words out of my head--they remain there even now.

Micah 6:8 gives man three simple requirements from the Lord: do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God. Can doing right really be that simple? YES!

DO JUSTLY
Doing justly means acting honestly, accurately, & deservedly. Every action of my life must fall through this Biblical definition: am I acting/speaking honestly? Do my actions/word accurately portray Christ? Am I rewarding or reprimanding others according to what they deserve?

LOVE MERCY
Honestly, I don't see how I can truly claim to be a Christian if I do not love mercy. I am who I am because God was merciful to me. It is now my duty, as one redeemed by the Lord, to demonstrate God's unfailing, unconditional love & mercy to those around me. Even if I don't like them.

WALK HUMBLY
Of the three requirements, I have to admit this is the one I struggle with the most. I would rather not live "having the feeling of insignificance, inferiority, or subservience." The world constantly tells me that I must look out for #1, but God says the exact opposite--I am to have a carpet-view mentality. I am here to serve my God & others, no matter what sacrifice I am asked to make.

How are you doing in fulfilling these simple requirements? Which is the hardest for you?