“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
Micah 6:8
Human beings are naturally deceitful, selfish, and prideful. If you do not think so, look at any two year old child. Even the best behaved, well-mannered child still has the mindset of “it’s all about me.” In some way, these traits characterized us before coming to Repentance (admitting God is right and we are wrong) and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We then began our walk with God instead of our walking away from God. Instantly, when the Holy Spirit took up residence in our hearts, we took on a new nature and a new character. We took on the nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit helps us to conduct our lives in a way that is pleasing to God. We no longer live under what we think good morals are, but we live under the morals of God.
The Lord lays out a simple set of rules in Micah 6:8 for how every Child of God should conduct themselves in their everyday living. These character traits are not what earn our Salvation, but are a result of our Salvation. The Holy Spirit creates in us a new character and a new nature that reflects Jesus Christ.
· Honesty - free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere.
· Kindness - having or showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature.
· Humbleness - having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.
Jesus was honest to those around Him in presenting Biblical Truth. He was upfront about His Person, His Work, His Intentions, and His Deity. Honesty is not always popular. It is the truth, whether good or bad, that sets us free from immorality and dishonesty.
Jesus was loving, kind, and compassionate as He healed those who came looking for healing. The Cross was the ultimate act of love and kindness. Jesus laid down His Life in Sacrifice to save and redeem all of humanity from the penalty of sin.
The character and morality of Jesus matched the humble, tender nature of The Lamb of God. The only thing Jesus ever said of Himself was, “learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). If we learn of Him in His Word, the Holy Spirit will help us to live as He did.
The three character traits in Micah bring us to the Golden Rule in the New Testament when Jesus says, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). In other words, treat others the way you wish to be treated. We all desire honesty, kindness, and humbleness from others towards us; therefore, we should treat those around us in the same Christ-like manner.
