Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly

Micah 6:8 is one of my favorite passages. I can imagine the prophet Micah stoically declaring to the Israelites, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.” Because the Israelites have once again fallen away from God, and must ask God what is necessary to atone for their transgressions. They are looking for a tangible act—an offering, a sacrifice, an act of repentance—to make things right. So through Micah, God tells the Israelites what is required of them: “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Three behaviors that can change the course of who they are.

This verse calls to me daily. It challenges me. And it challenges my church as well. My church is an exceptionally diverse congregation made up of many races, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, life experiences, faith backgrounds, etc. We embrace and seek this diversity, but over the past few years we have discovered that we are falling short in what it means to truly create space for all voices to be heard and valued.

More often than not, we operate from a dominant-culture perspective without meaning to. For example, when we assume that the experiences of one group are the same as the experiences of another, and allow that mindset to guide ministry, we are perpetuating an idea of a group that is “less than” or “other”— regardless of whether it is done intentionally or unintentionally. And we have to do better. We are called to do better.

To operate under an assumption that we all share similar lives limits the ways in which the gospel is lived out. To operate under the assumption that each of us experiences pain and suffering in the same way minimizes the depths of pain that so many face. And to operate under the assumption that we all encounter injustice in the same way diminishes the strength that comes when we purposefully stand up for each other. And yet, our churches operate under those assumptions, rather than lean into the scope of our differences.

In her book Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race, Debby Irving states, “It’s hard to imagine something you don’t experience firsthand, especially when it is so counter to your own experiences.” [1] I believe this is the struggle we wade through as churches, or more specifically, churches that operate out of a dominant-culture perspective. We are not able to imagine an alternative experience to our own—especially in terms of race. How often are our white brothers and sisters in Christ oblivious to the pain and frustration of our brothers and sisters of color? The question then becomes one of change. How do we change this? How do we change the system in a way that unequivocally values the voices of people of color?

Act justly. First off, we must recognize that “it [is] possible to be both a good person and complicit.” [2] Even when we seek to represent Christ in all we do, we must own the part we have played in this system. We must actively seek to identify ways in which we are complicit. Whether that exists through the role of passive bystander or person of privilege, we must be willing to act on injustice. We must be willing to give up our own privilege in order that others may receive equitable treatment. Micah tells the Israelites to “act justly.” So through Micah, God is telling us to “act justly.”

Love mercy. In order to live out what it means to truly be interculturally inclusive and adaptive, I’m going to need the forgiveness, kindness, and compassion of people of color. I can only imagine how tired they are of waiting for my voice to speak up, waiting for me to acknowledge the pain, the frustration, and the oppression they experience on a daily basis. Experiences I can only imagine because of my whiteness. While God continually shows mercy upon the Israelites, time and time again, they leave God. But God welcomes them back and offers forgiveness. God gives them a chance to change. And we must change as well, “But there’s a major catch: it’s much harder than one might imagine because it starts with personal change.” [3]

Walk humbly. We must “learn how to listen to the experiences of people of color for racial healing and justice to happen.” [4] When we approach a situation as if we have all the answers, we fall woefully short of being able to “walk humbly.” Acknowledging that others’ lives look different from ours means acknowledging the value in their perspectives. Recognizing the differences in life experiences based on race means intentionally making space for those realities. It requires us to adopt a posture of humility. God told the Israelites to remember that he is their God, and walking humbly before God requires that we do too. Especially when we have much work to do.

Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly. Three simple statements that if acted upon will change the course of who we are.

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[1] Debby Irving, Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race (Cambridge: Elephant Room Press, 2014), 73.

[2] Ibid., 99.

[3] Ibid., 187.

[4] Ibid., 175.