Stop thinking what God wants of you is more of what you’re already doing.
Micah 6:1-8
October 11, 2009
A parable
Crystal was 25 years old when she took the reins of a large company after the death of both her parents in an automobile accident. An only child, Crystal had been groomed by her father for business, and had majored in finance in college. It was also at college that her faith was shaped by a strong Christian campus ministry.
Crystal’s faith sustained her in the tragic loss of her parents and also shaped her view of her new opportunity as a calling from God. Her company’s mission statement included fairness, generosity, and integrity.
Conservative and level-headed, Crystal fell in love with her opposite, a fun-loving, risk-taking guy named Cody. He made her laugh and his spontaneous ways caused her heart to flutter. The son of 70s hippies, Cody loved surfing, snowboarding, and painting. He picked out the Sky Hotel in Aspen, Colorado for a destination wedding in ski country. Crystal planned the details.
Against the advice of her seasoned vice presidents, Crystal brought Cody into the business. She believed that marriage means you share everything, so she signed over half the company to her husband. Although Cody had never stayed in one job very long. Crystal just knew he would be motivated if he worked in the business with her. His creativity would add value to the team. Cody joined the senior management team as Vice President of Marketing, a position from which he could use his artistic talent to promote the company. He insisted, however, that a rigid schedule stymied his creativity, and he needed regular trips to the ski slopes or the beach to inspire him.
While it is true that opposites attract, it is also true that oil and water don’t mix. The personal and business relationship between Crystal and Cody showed strain almost from the words, “I do.” Cody’s values chafed against Crystal’s. He saw employees as disposable overhead in a time of declining profits, and constantly questioned the company’s charitable giving. His marketing techniques overplayed the company’s product quality and efficiency through slick images and catchy slogans.
Cody also ridiculed his wife’s conservative business philosophy, her faith, and her compassion. His personal trips went further, took longer, and cost more. She continued working twelve hours a day, making tough calls in a tough business environment.
One day the irrefutable evidence landed in Crystal’s e-mail box. Cody had been taking various female companions on his recreational adventures. Still, it was Cody who sued for divorce. Acting as his own attorney in court, Cody was defiant with his wife on the stand. “What did you expect of me? You knew who I was when you married me.”
Crystal wept as she answered. “What promise did I break to you, Cody? You had nothing when we married. We made a deal – we joined our hearts, our lives, our business. Remember Sky Hotel? I gave you my heart, my trust, and my future.”
“What do you want from me, Crystal?” Cody sneered from his counselor’s chair. “Sitting with you in Sunday School every week? Watching romantic movies while we hold hands on the couch? Going to work every day at 7 AM like you do? Ten thousand more child sponsorships so your bleeding heart can feel a little less guilty for all the money you inherited when your parents died? Maybe you want me to cut off both my legs so I can’t run around and ski anymore. Would that make you happy?”
“You know what I want, Cody. Do the right thing. Love us. I want your heart, Cody – all of it, always, like you promised me.”
Ritual, hyperbole, and sarcasm
Micah is my favorite minor prophet because of his best line. Most of these last twelve books in the Old Testament are known for one or two memorable verses.
Jonah 2:8, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”
Habakkuk 2:20, “But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”
Micah is well-known for two quotations. First, his prophecy that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (5:2). Second, Micah 6:8, “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.”
You can’t appreciate that verse without reading it in the context of chapter 6:1-8, and you can’t appreciate that section without at least a little understanding of the Micah’s setting.
All the prophets we have studied so far spoke God’s Word into the Assyrian crisis. It was during the time of the divided kingdom, with the ten tribes (Israel) living independently of the line of David ruling from Jerusalem (Judah). Assyria was the fading yet still dominant Middle Eastern empire. King Sargon II had gained control of much of Syria and Palestine in about 720 B.C, and his son Sennacherib was trying to do the same to Judah and Jerusalem through a lengthy siege.
The prophets to Israel and Judah during the Assyrian period warned of the coming destruction, and interpreted it as God’s punishment for their sins. Micah was one of the prophets condemning both Israel and Judah for sins such as abuse of power (2:1), unlawful seizure of property and inheritance (2:2), oppression of the poor (3:2), bribery (3:11), dishonesty in business (6:11), deceit (6:12), and even murder (7:2).
What chapter six does is to set up a courtroom scene. God is the prosecuting attorney (6:1), and the people of Israel are the defendants. The witnesses are mountains and “the foundations of the earth” (6:2) – possibly references to Mt. Sinai, where the law was originally given and to earthquakes that accompanied the giving of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 19-20.
As the case unfolds in verses 3-5, God doesn’t mention specific complaints or sins. Instead he appeals to the history of the covenant between God and his people, just like Crystal did in the parable. She said, “What promise did I break to you, Cody? You had nothing when we married. We made a deal – we joined our hearts, our lives, our business. Remember Sky Hotel?”
The LORD reminds Israel of what he did for them, where it happened, and who was there. He mentions events and places and people – the exodus, Moses, Balaam, the journey, Gilgal. “Remember the relationship,” he pleads. “We cut a covenant, we exchanged promises. I kept my end of the bargain. You did not.”
Israel’s answer is just like Cody’s in the courtroom. “What do you want from me, Crystal? Sunday School every week? Ten thousand more child sponsorships? Maybe you want me to cut off both my legs so I can’t run around and ski anymore.” Ritual. Hyperbole. Sarcasm.
Commentator Elizabeth Achtemeier says that is exactly the tone in verses 5-7 in the text. Ritual – “Shall I come before him with burnt offerings?” Hyperbole – “Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?” Sarcasm – “Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression?” Every Israelite knew that child sacrifice was a pagan act explicitly forbidden by the Law.
God’s response in verse 8 is exactly what Crystal had said: “You know what I want, Cody. Do the right thing. Love us. Get over yourself so we can walk this road of life together.”
Let’s look carefully at Micah 6:8. “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.”
The humble church
What does God require?
To act justly. It means to do the right thing. Sometimes we think of justice in macro terms – correcting all the wrongs in the world. And, indeed, the gospel has implications for how society is ordered. But if I were to tell you that justice means, for example providing health care for all or overturning Roe v. Wade, you might leave church thinking that “to act justly” is someone else’s responsibility. It’s something Congress needs to do, or President Obama, or the Supreme Court.
But this sermon is not about them. It’s about you. Justice is using the power you have to do the right thing. Everyone has a certain amount of power in various relationships. Except in extreme cases of abuse, marriage is a balance of power – where one spouse controls some areas of the relationship, and the other spouse controls the rest. Parenting is an exercise of power. There are overtones of power in every work setting.
Israel had gone from a status of slavery to independence, and some of its citizens had power over the others. When you have power over another person, even within a narrow slice of life, what you do with that power says more about your spiritual integrity than anything else. You can use that power to manipulate, to intimidate, to demand, and to control. Or you can use it to serve, to provide for, to meet needs. To act justly is to do the right thing.
To love mercy. The word “mercy” is the Hebrew chesed. We talked about this word a few weeks ago with Jonah’s memorable line. “Those who cling to worthless idols for the grace (chesed) that could be theirs.”
But chesed is more than just “grace,” more than “mercy.” Chesed is like Crystal saying, I want you to love us. It is the covenant love that binds God’s people not only to God but to one another. It breaks down cliques and smashes walls that distinguish between poor and rich, in and out, male and female, strong and weak, old and young. If you have a need, I will try to meet it. If you are hurting, I will care. If you are struggling, I will be there. What’s mine is mine not to hoard but to share – my time, my money, my energy, my compassion. It is in that sense that chesed means mercy. I care about you because we are bound together. Because I care about you, I care about what you care about.
God says, I want you to do justice, but I want you to love mercy. The word “love” means to desire, even sexually. It means to enjoy the relationships, like a friend. It means to delight in someone, like a child whose eyes light up when he sees his father or mother after an absence. I want you to love mercy.
To walk humbly with God. To be humble is to be lowly, to yield, to be modest. But Elizabeth Achtemeier says the word also means “attentive.” It means to pay attention to God, to watch him as we walk with him. It is to follow where God leads and to imitate him.
I have been thinking a lot about humility lately. When given an opportunity to preach at the UCC’s Western North Carolina Association a week ago, I preached on humility. If you have been attending worship in the 8:30 or 11:00 traditional services in the last few Sundays, you have heard much about humility.
The malaise of the modern church is arrogance. Humility is not an American value. But it is a biblical value. The word “humble” in various forms (humility, humiliation) is found in more than 100 verses in the Bible. For that reason, I plan to take several weeks in my weekly e-mail devotion to ask the question, “What does it look like to have a humble church?” If you don’t receive my weekly e-mail messages, please let the church office know. Or you can read them on my blog, www.corinthpastorbob.com. If you’re not online, let me know and I’ll find a way to get you these weekly messages. The reason I’m “advertising” is because I would very much like for this series of meditations to be a dialogue.
I will start here this week. The first and most important way the Bible uses humility is in our relationship with God. Humility toward others follows later. “Walk humbly with your God,” Micah says. Put yourself in proper relation to him. Listen to what he tells you and do it. What does that look like in a “humble church”? Tune in tomorrow.
Specialists in faith
Do what is right. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God. That is what God requires. It’s unusual, especially in the Old Testament, that what God requires is not framed in terms of do’s and don’ts. Why?
It’s human nature to zero in on a particular “requirement” of faith that is very narrow. Most of us are specialists in our faith application. That is to say, we do one, or maybe a few things, well. Perhaps it’s coming to church. Maybe it’s giving. It could be random acts of kindness. Or maybe teaching. Or Bible study or prayer. Or faithfulness to marriage and family. Or hard work.
When we hear the challenge, in whatever form it comes to be a better Christian, we instinctively think of those same areas. I’m going to do what I’ve been doing, but better or more. Then when we are challenged in an area of our blind spots – something we’re not doing that we should be doing, or are doing that we’re not doing – we usually don’t address the blind spot. We go back to the area we already do well, and just do more of that.
In the case of Israel during Micah’s time, they were good at ritual sacrifices, but they were treating the poor with contempt. God says, “I want a greater commitment from you.” Their answer is, “OK, I’ll make even more sacrifices.” And God says, “No, I want you to do justly.”
Cody is challenged by Crystal and says, “What do you want from me? Watching more romantic movies?” She answers, “No, Cody, I want your whole heart.”
Jesus used Micah 6:8 when he was rebuking the Pharisees. They were good at tithing down to a tenth of their spices. Jesus said, “You should do that, but also think about justice, mercy, and faithfulness.”
Maybe someone comes to church faithfully, but does not tithe. When challenged spiritually, she may say, “OK, I’ll come to church even more.” No, give more.
Or someone else gives generously, but sleeps with people he’s not married to. When challenged spiritually, he may say, “OK, I’ll give more.” No, stay in your own bed.
Imagine that Peter Corneliussen were my piano teacher. I’ve learned to play “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” It’s the only song I know how to play. No matter what assignment he gives me, I keep working on “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” maybe trying to change my dynamics and value.
One day I come into my lesson and, once again, play “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Peter says, “Bob, this piano can do so much more. You can do more. There are more keys available. Let me show you.” He plays an arrangement that uses the entire keyboard.
Stop thinking what God wants of you is more of what you’re already doing. Look at what you’re not doing, what you’re excusing, what you may be missing. Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God. Amen.