Pastor's Column 8/4/2024

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“Should we offer Him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O People, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:7-8, NLT

“Do What is Right!”

The demonstration of character God requires of us can be supplanted by activities we feel will compensate for our lack of obedience. Sometimes the things we do we think can appease God. This, rather than follow His commands.  Our many activities are not an alternative to worshiping the Lord. This is much a part of human nature. We are in some ways wired to seek acceptance by various acts of behavior. The reward we assume we will receive from a specific act of behavior becomes the stimulus that feeds our thinking. This is not to say; however, that every act of behavior is disingenuous, but there are some which are motivated by misguided pretenses.  Such was the case during the time of the prophet Micah. A tragic decline in moral and spiritual values resulted in a diffident and divided nation. Religious life was marred by false prophets and people offering sacrifices to God as appeasement for sins, rather than repenting their transgressions. The moral and ethical conduct of the people betrayed the character they boasted they possessed.  The people were on a collision course with a destiny that would ruin their nation and send them into exile. The prophet Micah gave them a directive: “Do what is right.”  Living a just life meant showing kindness and mercy toward each other and walking in humility before God. Micah said a person’s character is far more important than incessant rituals. The society in which Micah lived in the 8th Century B.C. is eerily like our own today. The ease with which leaders lie and promulgate false conspiracies is no different than Judah’s leaders. The unjust leaders of Judah who profited off the poor, and attacked the vulnerable could well have been a commentary on today’s injustice. People in Micah’s time, and now, who exploit the irrational fears of others for their own gain; must repent and do what is right.