Just Do It

Play this while you read:

                              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNCah0r27Tk


That’s the Micah 6:8 bumper sticker. It synthesizes great concepts into a single, easy-to-remember phrase. It’s also the tattoo on my right arm.

I read a young woman’s blog recently who interpreted the “Do Justice” part as her justification for harassing other young women at an abortion clinic. She went so far as to use it to justify violence. Are Micah’s words that trite that they can be used to justify anything we want in the name of justice? Can we self-define what justice is?

Perhaps Micah’s words are not three separate statements, but three questions that must be answered when we struggle with what we should do. Is it Just? Is is Merciful? Am I being Humble to God’s will? Perhaps it is something like the Rotarian 4-Way test – 1) Is it the Truth?, 2) Is it Fair to All concerned?, 3) Will it bring Goodwill, and 4) Will it be Beneficial to All concerned? It’s easy to see Micah echoed in those questions. But there is much more.

If we unpack Micah’s succinct words, there is much more depth and a deceptively simple credo that is MUCH harder to live by.  I am indebted to Bishop Munib Younan’s article in the Ecumenical Review for this bit of exegesis.

Do Justice 

 Mishpat is the Hebrew term for what is legally expected, that is --what rights individuals have as humans created in the image of God. Justice begins with the assumption that all people are created equal. We must recognize the humanity in each and every person. And, this is a command – to DO justice. That means when we see injustice we are called to step in to help rectify it. This is an obligation!

Love Mercy

‘achabat chesed.  The root of the first word means “to burn, kindle, set on fire” – Love as in “have a passion for”. Chesed means kindness or mercy. Kindness might imply merely civility, but Micah puts these two words together to say that this is a passion to go beyond what is expected (see Do Justice!). We are commanded here to do acts of compassion that are undeserved and beyond any expectation of right or repayment. “…give him your cloak as well”.

Walk Humbly with God

Hatznea lecet. Humbly walk.  If you were walking with God by your side through your daily life, your actions would be ethical to the extreme, you would be physically unable to be reckless or self-centered. Your defenses would be down, you’d be vulnerable and consequently open to the needs of everyone around you. You wouldn’t presume to judge anyone. Admitting you were wrong would come naturally -- as would forgiveness for those who wronged you. Again this is in the form of a command. We can’t just sit in our houses and be humble, we have to walk in the world. We are required to engage.

The bumper sticker doesn’t mean “ Oh just be nice to people”, it’s a call to action. To act justly and to speak up about injustices, to love everyone ( no exceptions!) and to be compassionate toward them beyond all obligation, and to engage in the world humbly yet firmly.  This is not an easy task. But it is, as Micah says, “ what the Lord requires of us”.

The three phrases are our test, our touchstone by which we measure how well our faith guides us. And that is why it is the tattoo on my right arm.


Paul S.