The St. Louis / Arizona Cardinals have played a total of 14 games on Monday Night Football. The franchise is 4-10 all time on Monday nights. All four wins have come against the Cowboys. The Cardinals always beat the Cowboys on Monday night. Even in Jerry Maguire, the Cardinals beat the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are the first team in NFL history to average more than 30 points per game in the first nine games of a season and still get outscored. I don’t think a Jets tackle and a 29-year-old Bengals linebacker are going to help this historically bad defense.

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“He has showed you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” ~Micah 6:8

 

I wrote about the context of this well-known passage in yesterday’s post. God has formally announced that Israel has broken the covenant by not taking care of their neighbors. By ignoring the poor. By exploiting the outsiders. By getting rich off the misfortunes of others. And Israel reacts by asking questions about their worship. Maybe we’re not sacrificing the right animals in the right ways. Maybe we need to worship more. Or better. And the Lord answers by reminding his people that none of that has ever mattered to him. What matters are these three things:

Act Justly – If you’re a covenant partner with God, you have to take care of everybody in the community. That’s justice. Helping the poor, protecting the immigrants, taking in the orphans, feeding the widows, speaking up for all the people whose voices don’t get heard, taking care of all the people in society who can’t take care of themselves–just like God takes care of me when I am completely unable to take care of myself.

Love Mercy – The definition of mercy is not getting what you really deserve or not giving to someone what they truly deserve. And we do love mercy. When it’s shown to us. But God tells us to love mercy for everybody. Don’t just act in a merciful way from time to time, love mercy consistently. Love mercy as a strategy, as a way of living, as a way of being and doing. Love mercy not only when it’s shown to you, but as you show it to others. Love mercy as your second-nature response, as your Holy Spirit instinct. Love it as a quality of God’s character he is forming in you.

Walk Humbly with Your God – Don’t carelessly or presumptiously do things your own way. Pay attention to God’s will. Put your will in a secondary position to his. Know your place next to God and walk with him–not against him, not in front of him–walk with God’s vision, walk with God’s character, walk with God’s priorities. God has brought you life-changing justice and has shown you amazing mercy because that’s how he treats everybody. Now, you walk with him and join him in doing those same things with everybody where you live.

Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.

Peace,
Allan