Micah 6:8 Tells Us, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what Both the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
This is a beautiful verse which becomes even more beautiful when the full meaning reveals itself through the original Hebrew text – “humble thyself to walk with” thy God. Initially, it may sound a bit like Micah is saying we have to lower ourselves to a level at which God is able to walk with us. Sound a bit funny to you? It shouldn’t!
In Luke 18, Christ provides us with a conscience-pricking parable about a proud Pharisee and a humble sinner. While the Pharisee prayed with himself, he kept in mind all of the reputable things he had been doing. While the sinner prays to his Father, he keeps in mind all of the things he could have done better. We clearly see the danger of a pharisaical mindset. Likewise, when we stop to consider all of the good things we have done, it is all too easy to give ourselves a nice pat on the back. Yet, when we embrace the humble mindset of the publican, always considering how to be better servants for Christ, there is no room for pride, but plenty of room for improvement.
Back a chapter in Luke 17, we have a verse that ties this together very nicely. Verse 10 reads, “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do” (cp. Matt. 25:30). To walk with God requires more than doing what’s right and what’s expected of us. It is also taking the extra step, so to speak, and doing all that we can do — and not only what is our duty. This way, we can change our, “Look what I do” to “What can I do?”
Mary is a wonderful example for us in doing what we can. The beginning verses of Mark 14 (cp. John 12:3) show Mary, a well-known sinner, humbly doing what she could (v. 8) — or her reasonable service for her Lord. As you recall, Mary purchased some very expensive scented ointment and poured it on Jesus’ head and feet, then wiped his feet with her hair. How ironic that the pharisaical ears in the house in Bethany failed to hear the tones of mercy and understanding that flowed from her every action. There, before her kin, she demonstrated Christ’s sacrifice and commemorated it before he even suffered on the tree. She not only demonstrated Christ’s breaking and pouring out of himself on our behalf, but also hers and our own breaking and pouring out of our lives for his sake. How sad to see that some in Bethany only recognized her act — and his purpose — as a disgraceful waste of something precious. We shouldn’t see the onlooker’s reaction as something that we are isolated from. We also bear the same prideful tendencies and daily stop short of casting our trophies down at the Lord’s feet.
From this, we can learn that humility directs our perspective. It draws us closer to God and confirms our desperate need for Christ, the Lamb of God, which even Abraham in his day knew and saw. We can’t walk with God without realizing our continual need for His mercy which is supremely expressed through His Son. Now that our mindset has directed us toward Christ, we see exactly who we should be comparing ourselves to — certainly not to one another! For, it is far too easy to say, “I do more than he does” or “I do a much better job than she does.” We can only truly focus on our own personal improvements when our comparison is to Christ.
So Micah is telling us that we must, in a sense, lower ourselves to a higher level; a level at which we acknowledge our weaknesses so that we might become profitable servants. If we fail to acknowledge our weaknesses, we essentially fail to make a way for God to strengthen and develop us by them. But a humble, willing heart gives our Creator something malleable to work with. We are exhorted to, “Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One