With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my first-born for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:6-8)
Christians are called to have an impact on society. Our presence in the midst of the affairs of human life is to make a difference. One of the duties of Christians is to be salt and light in the midst of an increasingly apathetic and gray society. We are here, not just to believe something, but also to stand for something.
Too often we allow society to push us in a little corner called "religious life." We are told that we can only speak to "religious" issues. We can believe anything we want to believe, as along as we do not attempt to use those views to change society. After all, everyone is entitled to an opinion. We should not be forcing our beliefs on others.
There is some truth to this argument. Just as our right to religious freedom is guaranteed by our constitution so their right to religious freedom is also guaranteed. We all have the right in this country to be religious or to be free from religion. True religion can never be coerced anyway.
The problem is that there are two issues which generally get overlooked in this argument. The first is that we are all part of this society. It is nice to think that we are totally independent, but that is not true. The truth is that we are all interdependent. Like or not, my life influences yours, and your life impacts mine. We live in a society with other people whom we must consider. While I may consider my yard mine, if I were to begin to pile mountains of pungent manure there, my neighbors would most certainly complain. And they would have a right to. I would do the same. Just as my life impacts theirs, so their lives impact mine. And just as our beliefs and behaviors impact others in society, so their beliefs and behaviors impact us. So, like it or not, we must determine certain issues of right and wrong.
The laws of this land are based on certain principles of ethics and morality. It is obvious to any honest reader of history that the Judeo-Christian tradition was the prevailing view which shaped our society. It is also true that over the years we have changed our views on many things. Once we were more certain about the nature of truth. Now many will not even admit that there is such a thing as absolute truth. Nonetheless, the Ten Commandments, or at least some of them, have found expression in the laws of our land. For instance, we recognize that it is wrong to steal and murder. We have accepted these concepts as truth.
As Christians we are called to stand for truth, righteousness, and justice. Others may disagree with our view, but we must take our stand regardless. God has given us a standard of righteousness, and we are the bearers of that standard. To be sure, others have a right to make their case, but so do we. In fact, we must!
Our text gives great insight into what God requires of us. It deals with the issue of the Christian and social justice. Considering where we stand in history, this passage certainly warrants our consideration. Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, a time when we reflect on the value of all human life. It is the Sunday which is the closest to the anniversary of the infamous Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion on demand. It also just happens to be the first Sunday after the inauguration of our new President, Bill Clinton. He has spoken much about change and rights. In his inaugural address, he indicated that he believed that it was the responsibility of each new generation of Americans to define America. I'm not really sure what he means by this, but if we are to define America and change how we believe and behave, then I certainly want to be in on the process.
If you, as a Christian, believe certain things are true, just and right, then you have a moral obligation to speak up. You had better speak up. If you do not, your voice will never even have the chance to rise above the clamor of all the others who are speaking.
What are we to do? How are we to impact our society? How are we to propagate our views of truth and righteousness? Our text gives us three keys to doing this.
TO DO JUSTICE
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (6:8)
The first requirement God has for us is to do justice. As believers, we are to stand on the side of justice. We must stand for what is right and just. We must do this because we have a moral obligation to society. Zechariah 7:9-10 reads, "Thus has the Lord of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice, and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.'"
It must be our concern as citizens of this country and as participants in this society that true justice is dispensed. Where we see injustice, we must let our voice be heard. Part of being salt and light is to stand for justice. And in the Christian ethic we find a true basis for truth and justice. If we do not want our society to quit dispensing justice then we must not allow them to easily dispense with truth.
Our moral obligation to society should be shown in our commitment to protect the innocent and weak. Psalm 82:2-4 says, "How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Vindicate the weak and fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked."
There is a good reason why we are to defend the innocent and weak. It is because we live in a time of devalued human life. Although man was told to have dominion over everything, almost everything today has dominion over man. In fact, human life seems to be valued far less than any other kind of life.
Some years back a 40 ton humpbacked whale accidently wandered into the Sacramento river. Scientists were frantically concerned that immersion in fresh water would kill this whale, whom they named Humphrey. They considered this a great potential tragedy.
As these scientists specializing in marine activities began to try to save Humphrey's life, bystanders collected on the banks of the river. Some launched out in boats, while others aimed binoculars and cameras at the unsuspecting whale. The scientists tried hammering underwater on metal pipes and playing underwater tapes of other humpback whales feeding. Their hope was to lure Humphrey back to the ocean. Meanwhile, Humphrey seemed oblivious to all this concern. He wandered about in typical whale fashion, surfacing from time to time to exhale, emerging in great leaps and diving down with loud slaps of his tail. Eventually he did swim out of the river and back into the ocean. The scientists, of course, claimed a great success. Incidentally, Humphrey showed none of the debility from fresh water that the scientists predicted. These efforts cost the state of California $60,000. The scientists requested donations to one fund or another to replace this money, to enable science to proceed to other necessary, "scientific" efforts.
Some of you may recall the reports concerning the condors of California. Although tens of thousands of condors exist on the west coast of South America, it seems that in California the condors are dwindling. I read a report which described how "some scientists roosted in high places for weeks, filming and watching condors, and recording their every wing flutter. One such team described how a male and female condor, having produced their season's one egg, fell into an aerial fight over which would next sit on the egg. Apparently condors rotate this duty, and this particular pair had lost count. Their fight was waged in the air, with much pecking, raucous screams, and clawing. In the struggle, they dislodged the egg, which rolled out the nest and crashed. The scientist were appalled, and discussed ways to steal future eggs, to save future condors from such irresponsible parents."
Then there was the great dam project which was first delayed and then ruled out of existence because the scientists said that the snail-darters would become extinct. The snail-darter is a nearly unknown fish. And, of course, this was of great concern to some. Since then, snail-darters have been discovered in embarrassing numbers in many locations. It is my understanding that the dam remains unbuilt.
Why do I sight these things? Is it because I do not believe ecology and our environment is not important? In fact, I do believe that we must carefully consider the impact on the environment which our actions produce. I share these things to point out a particular irony. The irony is this: many of the same "scientists" who will launch into moral diatribes against killing a fish will not think twice when an unborn baby loses its life. In fact, there are some American scientists who have this obsessive belief that it is their duty to monitor all that moves on this planet -- except human beings. Human life is important. Whether we are talking about the unborn, born, or aged, we should be more concerned for human life than we are for snail-darters. Atrocities are happening all over the world. In various parts of Asia: Cambodia, Vietnam, Tibet, Communist China; in Syria and Africa: Libya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zimbabwe; Latin America: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua; and most recently Somalia. We are right to cry out for justice and to do something for more than political considerations.
But while we cry out for justice in these cases, we must also not neglect to cry out against the killing of unborn babies for convenience. Since Roe vs. Wade, over 25 million babies have been aborted in America. There is something wrong with a society which closes its eyes to this injustice. But for convenience, selfishness, and profit millions of babies are killed every year. It is clear to any thinking person that we are talking about human life. It is certainly alive. And it is certainly human. The fact that it cannot live outside its dependence on its mother is little different than the fact that a newly born baby cannot live without depending on its mother. An unborn baby should be no more the property of its mother than a pre-Civil War slave should have been the property of his or her master. The Dred Scott Supreme Court decision of 1857 declaring that slaves were the mere property of their masters was patently wrong. I personally believe that the Roe vs. Wade decision is equally in error. History will certainly bear this out.
To Love Kindness
We are called not only to do justice, but also to love kindness. We need to stand on the side of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy. Those who are hurting need our kindness, not our judgement.
This especially applies to those who cannot help themselves. We should be on the side of the helpless because God is on their side. And it seems to me that there is no one more helpless than an unborn baby. Even though we live in an age which exalts "the survival of the fittest," we must live by a higher law -- the dignity of all human life.
A logical result of our loving kindness should be the providing of alternatives and care. Christians who stand against abortion are often criticized as those who simply curse the darkness. Sometimes the criticism is just. If all we do is to piously denounce abortion, then we have not done enough. Those who have crisis pregnancies have great needs, and we must be there to help. We must provide help and counseling, housing, doctor's bills, and adoption to show the love of Jesus to those who are hurting and looking for an alternative to abortion.
The exciting thing is that we are doing that. The alternatives of counseling, care, financial aid, and adoption are there for those who want them. In fact, the demand for adoption greatly exceeds the supply of children. There is now no reason why every child cannot find a loving family.
We will not get this message across by condemning people who are victims of the radical feminist propaganda. We will only get the message across by lovingly showing mercy in practical ways. That should be our goal. That is certainly one way to love kindness.
Another way to get the message across is to concentrate on educating the public. Perhaps the best way to lovingly confront people is to mount a public relations and media campaign that is positive and informational. The recent television ads with the slogan Life - What a beautiful choice are extremely effective in communicating the message. Here is a kind but confrontational approach.
TO WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR GOD
To walk humbly with your God means that we must understand that God is ultimately in control. It means that we must understand that we are also sinful human beings who make wrong choices. Abortion is truly a matter of choice, and it is the wrong choice. But we make wrong choices too. We must pray that God would forgive both us and them.
To walk humbly with your God means that we must respect the dignity of all human life because God created it. We must even respect the dignity of those who do not respect the dignity of others. One day we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. We are His creation.
Look around you. All around you there are people full of the life God gave them. That life is sacred. C.S. Lewis said, "There are no ordinary people . . . it is immortals who we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit." We must remember that we are dealing with eternal beings.
All human life is sacred: the unborn, the infant, and the aged. We certainly want quality of life for all, but all people have a right to life. Some like to play God, but this is not a game. God is God, and we are mere humans. Let's let God be God and choose to stand on His side. This is what He requires. He calls us to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.
