I glance at the clock. 3:11am. All I really want to do is go back to sleep. However, sleep is slow returning. In my mind I keep hearing the words of Micah, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

What? It’s three 0’ clock in the morning. Really God? Micah?

The setting is a metaphorical court. God acts as both prosecutor and judge. God opens the proceedings by asking a question to which there is no answer, “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!” (Micah 6:3) The prosecutor then reminds the defendant of the Lord’s saving acts. Among those acts are the exodus from Egypt and the journey through the desert to the promised land.  

Having heard the charges the scene now shifts from judicial to liturgical. The defendant wants to know what can be done to placate the anger of the Lord. “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Micah 6:6-7) Each gift is more extravagant than the one before, culminating in the offer to sacrifice a child. The Lord strongly condemned this practice, although there are references to one forcing a son or daughter to “pass through the fire” (Judges 11:29-40; and 2 Kings 3:26-27; 16:1-4; 21:6).

Regardless of the extravagance of the offering, burnt offerings are not what the Lord requires. God is looking for God’s people to “do justice.” It is important to note that we are called to “do” justice. To do justice is more than writing a theological treatise on the subject. To do justice is live justly with our neighbors. To treat them with the same dignity and respect that we demand for ourselves. Justice in God’s terms was sadly lacking in the world in which the prophet lived and painfully absent in our world. Rather than practicing justice, we live in a world that allows the wealthiest to determine the fate of the poorest. People are seen as commodities to be used and discarded as day old bread.

Listen to the words of another Old Testament prophet. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? (Isaiah 58:6-7)

If that isn’t enough to challenge our limited understanding of justice perhaps Jesus’ picture of judgment as described in Matthew 25 will challenge us to accountability. Jesus describes judgment as people separated using the analogy of sheep and goats. The sheep and goats are divided based on the actions they took, or failed to take, on behalf of the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the stranger, the naked, the sick and imprisoned. Those deemed righteous did not do these things out of an expectation of rewards but because they practice God’s justice and mercy.

Parenthetically, rewards should never be considered in acts of justice and mercy. We do justice and practice kindness precisely because we are Christ-followers. Reward should not enter our thinking. The moment we start calculating “what’s in it for me,” is the moment we abandon God’s justice.

God requires that we do justice and love kindness. Our goodness, kindness, and mercy is based on our relationship with God. We do not stop and process whether our kindness will be recognized and appreciated, we simply stop to help the stranger who is struggling to balance a bag of groceries while pushing a baby carriage. We don’t donate ragged clothing that we refuse to wear any longer, instead we give from the overflowing closet of things we have neglected. We don’t put dented cans in the food pantry, but buy fresh groceries. We’re not too busy to visit a sick friend or make a phone call.

Maybe God woke me up at 3:11 am to call me from my own practices of injustice. It is likely that I am more often judgmental rather than kind.

Seminary was a long time ago, however, I still remember the commencement address. The title of the speech was, “One More Requirement” and the text was Micah 6:8. I have tried to recall the name of the preacher that day, and while the name escapes me, forty-four years later I still recall the thrust of the message. We were told that this verse was not an example of a three-point sermon, rather the verse contained one requirement, to walk humbly (wisely) with God.

As we walk humbly in that relationship the practice of justice will be a natural outcome of our life in Christ. We will not need to stop and ask if we are treating a neighbor with kindness and justice. Kindness and justice are the inevitable outcomes of a life lived in obedience and faithfulness. When one walks humbly with God the fruits of that relationship are obvious to everyone around us.

Why God chose the wee hours of the morning to remind me of this I don’t know. But I have an idea that my judgmental tendencies and quick temper do not bring honor to the one I profess to serve. Reflecting on the message that Sunday afternoon more than four decades ago, and God’s gentle early morning nudge, I am called to repent, change my attitude, do justice, and practice kindness.

It occurs to me that I am not the only one who needs God’s gentle, or not so gentle, nudge to my conscience. Many people in leadership make decisions that affect the lives and welfare of others with no regard for the outcome to families, financially, and emotionally. God requires justice and kindness. There is accountability.