Today's meditation on Micah 6:8 will be short, simple and to the point: To do justice: I suggest, if you ever have a week to spare, pick up some Lawrence Kohlberg. He wrote extensively about moral growth as it related to justice. He came up with the concept of a justice scale. The idea is, our concept of justice evolves as we mature. All of us stall out on the scale somewhere, and all of us climb that scale in our own time. It usually takes some major life event to move us up the ladder of understanding moral justice. I mention this because I want you to consider this question: Does God's perfect justice have enough grace to accept our adolescent and intermediate forms of justice? I believe the answer is yes, but doesn't that mean we need to extend that grace to others, who we believe, have a more adolescent version of justice than us? Love kindness: Carol Gilligan is another great read. She was inspired by Kohlberg to come up with a care scale. As we age and grow we mature in our concept of care for self and others. If you would like to read more, check out in a different voice. One of the pieces I took from her idea of moral care, was the care for self. At some point we have to do what appears to be selfish, care for ourselves, in order to be well enough to care for others. You know, take the plank out of your own eye before you can take the splinter out of another's eye? Loving kindness is loving all the ways it expresses itself. Caring for others and caring for the self. Walking humbly with God: You know what I love most about humility? It cannot be faked. We can feign love, joy, and interest. We cannot feign humility. You either have it or your don't. If you have it, I mean really have it, you are naturally doing it with God. Only, there is a reason justice and loving kindness come first. If we are not focused on real and true justice, and showing kindness while we do it, those who are humble will be martyred. In other words, it is their job to be humble, and it is our job to raise them up. It is there job to remember everything they have and do are from God. It is our job to celebrate their accomplishments. This one cannot be done without the help of the other two. Martin Luther King Jr lived fully into all three. It was the rest of humanity who failed to live into justice and kindness that got Martin Luther King Jr. killed. We failed to protect his humility. I put this against Martin Luther, who also lived into all three. He too would have been killed for his justice, kindness and humility, but someone stepped in and saved his life. Someone protected him in his humility. ![]() Consider donating to the mission of Fig Tree Christian. Any offering made over the next 50 days will come with a handmade heart bracelet, saying thank you for your donation. All donations are tax deductible. To get your bracelet, mail a check to Fig Tree Christian, or donate under the tab above. (Make sure to give your address so we know where to send your bracelet to!) All bracelets will be one size fits most and colors will be randomized. If you wish to mail a check, please mail it to: Fig Tree Christian 42 Essex Ln Hiram, GA 30141 |
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