Decision Guidelines

With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,Ten thousand rivers of oil?Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?  (Micah 6:6-8)

I looked at this passage this week and thought of last week’s blog about the two commands Jesus gave us: to love God and love our neighbor.  This is a lot like that.  God is giving us three general guidelines by which to live our lives.  They are really tests, standards, against which we can examine our actions.

We are always wondering what we should do in this situation or that.  When someone tells us “Read your Bible.  It will tell you what to do,” we get frustrated.  We end up in the sacrifices of Leviticus or the genealogies of Matthew or Luke and don’t see a path to take.  We still need a guide.  Well here it is.  Mark the page, put in a posted note, or memorize verse 8. 

When we’re stuck on a decision or facing a storm and are unsure of what to do, the guidelines here are meant to help us.  We need to ask ourselves “Is what we want to do just, is it merciful, and am I walking humbly enough with God to have a clear view of what He wants done – and what He doesn’t?”  Pair these three with the two Jesus gave us, and we should be able to handle anything:

“Should I move in with my girlfriend?” – Does that honor God?

“Should I reach out to my hurting friend?” – Isn’t that loving your neighbor?

“I know I shouldn’t cheat on my taxes, but I need the money” – Is that acting justly?

“Can I pass up a homeless man without reaching out to him?” – We are to love mercy.

“I’m just so proud I was able to share Christ with someone I want to tell everyone what I did” – Walk humbly. 

Jesus told us to love God and love others.  Here, the Holy Spirit through Micah is telling us to calm down if our decision fits under these three categories, we’re on solid ground.  God isn’t looking for the sacrifices listed in verses 6 and 7.  Our God is a God interested in our hearts.

God often told His people in the Old Testament it was their hearts He was after, not the Law.  Yes, God required the sacrifices and festivals, but what He really wanted was willing obedience.  God knew the Law wouldn’t do the job.  Men are too flakey.   Paul tells us the Law was our tutor or schoolmaster to give us a moral basis for the coming New Covenant:

But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Gal 3:23,24)

Why is this important?

God hasn’t changed.  He wants our obedience.  He’s given us simple guidelines to apply to all decisions.  We are without excuse.

We shouldn’t get so wound up in our troubles that we lose sight of God’s instructions.  Just remain calm, act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.  He’s got this.