A Three-Legged Stool

   Something in my reading this morning led me to think about the verse in Micah that states:

   "He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?"
   I guess that I try to look for things in Holy Scripture that will give me an exact formula to right standing with God. Is there one capsule that, if I were to live that way, would be assurance that God would be pleased with my life?

   God has given me right standing in His sight from the moment that I accepted Jesus as my Savior and confessed that He is the only way to God. Even with this knowledge, I feel that I do not always live in such a way as to make my everyday life pleasing to God. I know that He must be disappointed (if that is a good way to put it) in some of the things that I do, think and feel.

   Micah tells the people of his day that God is not pleased with all of their outward shows of obedience, their sacrifices and offerings, He wants them to live to be a blessing to others and to follow after God with their whole heart and soul. And I think God still is looking for that today. Let the outward acts spring from a life of inward confidence toward God.

   Justice, Kindness and Humility

   The first two, Justice and Kindness, seem to be a way to live with others, but the third, Humility, is pointing to how we walk with God. The first two are good things to do, and if done in the right spirit and for the right purpose, can bless people around us, but if justice and kindness are just ways to gather accolades for our actions, then we miss the point entirely. We can't bring those good acts before Him and say "see what I have done for You" and expect His wholehearted approval.

   A three-legged stool cannot stand on just two of its legs. The third leg of humility, especially in the way that we approach God, is the key to the whole process. It is not a "see what I have done" but a "thank You Father for allowing me to be Your hands and feet to these others that you put in my path", and meaning it.

   Walking with God is a continual process and it seems that this leg of Humility is the key to a life lived in obedience to His precepts.

   But, Oh, is it hard to actually do....