Micah 6:8
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
The Christian life is not as complex as some make it. You will find that God makes the Christian life one that anyone can live. He does not require of anyone something that He doesn’t require of all. God made the Christian life such that even a child can be successful in living it.
This is the case with doing good. We often have an obscure look at what is good, and our viewpoint of good is defined by what affects us. On the other hand, God gives us a clear definition of what is good. In the verse above, God says there are three things of which good is comprised.
First, if you’re going to do good, then you must be just. Being just is truly being the same in all areas of life. For instance, being just is treating everyone the same. That would mean that you’re going to treat the poor the same way you would treat the rich. It means that you treat the lowly the same way you would treat the esteemed. It means you treat the fallen the same way you would treat the righteous. It means you treat the castaway the same way you would treat the popular. If you’re going to be good, then you must learn to treat everyone the same.
Being just also means your dealings are the same with all. In other words, you don’t take advantage of one because they have more money. It means that you are fair in all your business dealings. It means you make sure that how you conduct business is right, and that you don’t take advantage of anyone. If you’re going to be good, then you must be just in all your business dealings. God should be pleased with how you conduct business in every situation.
Second, if you’re going to do good, then you must love mercy. If you love mercy, then you will practice mercy. I’m amazed of the Pharisaical attitude of many Christians. We will accept our loved ones who have fallen, but someone else who has done something “horribly wrong” is never considered accepted among the brethren. I ask you, are you merciful to those who have fallen? Certainly, someone may have hurt you deeply, but if you’re going to be good, then you must be merciful to that person and allow them a chance to get right with you. God is merciful to us and will pardon our iniquity if we ask Him, and you should be willing to pardon those who have wronged you if they ask for forgiveness.
Third, if you’re going to do good, then you must be humble. Friend, we all need to see that we are not as good as we think we are. There is nothing of ourselves of which we should glory. We will never be good until we get a proper perspective of ourselves. Until we come to the point where we are humble, then good cannot come from our lives.
I ask you, are you good? Do you treat everyone the same? Does God approve of your business dealings? Are you willing to give everyone a second chance including those who have deeply hurt you? Is your perspective of yourself one that God would approve? This is what it takes to do good. You must constantly work at improving yourself in all of these areas. You will find that if you can conquer these three areas in your life, that you will be successful as a Christian.