He has shown all you people what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
In light of the election last night, there are some very strong opinions across the country. This post is not meant to be political, and I will not be sharing my political beliefs, but after seeing multiple harsh posts-coming from people of all parties- I needed to write to get my thoughts together.
The verse above comes from Micah, where Israel is experiencing a great amount of turmoil and running from the Lord.
Before I start addressing the verse, I want to point out that Israel originally did not have a King or any kind of ruler in an earthly sense; in the beginning, they solely followed the Lord in everything that they did.
This point is definitely not to say that all forms of government are corrupt or that we shouldn't have government, its just a simple reminder about what happens when a whole group of people stop looking for the Lord as their main King. Like the verse above says-He has shown all you people what is good. Not only has God set an example of what a King should be, but He has also shown us through Christ what a citizen should be. For example, in Mark 12:17, "Jesus said to them, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's"". No matter what, Jesus set an example of respecting those in authority.
The next part of the verse says to act justly. This is a call for each one of us to act justly to EVERYONE. This means show the LOVE of Christ to all those around us.
Right now, we need to be showing Christ's love to those of all races, SES levels, those in the LGBT community, and yes, even those that may have voted differently than you. As a Christian community, attacking others for ANY reason is not what the Bible calls us to do. Jesus tells a crowd in John 8:7 "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone". While we may not be throwing physical stones (although I've heard some rallies are getting pretty rowdy), our words are SO effective. Unfortunately, the majority of what I've seen-even said by other believers that I respect- tend to have more of a negative effect. No matter what your political beliefs are, as a Christian community God calls us to ACT JUSTLY and remember that each person you come into contact with is a human being and should be treated as one.
The next part of the verse is also so important. LOVE MERCY. Not only should we show it, but we should love it. No matter what your political stance is, I believe these next few days, weeks, and even years are going to require a great deal of mercy.
Because God has called us as Christians to this standard, we MUST show mercy to our new president, our friends and families, and our country. It is no surprise that America as a whole does not always have Christ on the agenda, but it is so so important to show forgiveness, and continue to love and support our entire country.
The last part of the verse says to walk humbly with your God. Whether you are happy and on the verge of gloating about the results, or maybe the results already hit you with a bit of humility, it's important to just breathe and put things into perspective. The verse ends with he most important thing to remember: walk humbly WITH YOUR GOD. No matter what your beliefs are, we need to individually, with friends and family, and as a country walk in prayer, humility, and in peace with our Lord because no matter what, He reigns forever.
The LORD will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 146:10)
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