on Micah 6:6-8

"What can we bring to the Lord to make up for what we've done? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer Him thousands of rams and tens of thousands of rivers of olive oil? Would that please the Lord? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for the sins of our souls? Would that make Him glad?

No, O people, the Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what He requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."


Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

In our quest to "appease" God, we often resort right back to what our forefathers seemed to do so often:

They wanted quantity over quality.

They wanted physical sacrifice over spiritual abandonment.

They wanted to bow before God one day and mock Him the next.

But Micah reminds us that God is not after empty rituals. He's not interested, necessarily, in what we give Him, if it doesn't come from the right attitude.

No, in contrast, Micah offers up what God requires from us all:

1. Integrity
2. Mercy
3. Humbleness

The practical application of this is up to us. But, if it's not rooted in these three things, well...it's not rooted at all. We need to be careful that the "what" we're doing for God doesn't exceed our "why". We need to examine our "programs" and "movements", our resources, our actions...everything we do "in God's name". We need to ask ourselves whether these things are vain sacrifices, empty rituals, meaningless tributes. Basically, we need to be aware of our true intentions and attitudes at all times.

I know I'm guilty of this far more often than not. God, forgive me. Let my life be an expression and outpouring of Your love and mercy. Let me walk humbly with you. Let me do the right thing, always.