Six: justice, kindness, humility – part one.

cieling_cat_creates I think we have a problem with obsession. As a culture in America, we have the time and discretionary money to obsess about whatever interests us. That’s why we have a thriving entertainment gossip industry (think TMZ), why the word “fansite” exists, why there are little tiny stores in the strip mall that sell random specialty things that don’t go out of business, and why there is an entire translation of the Bible in LOLcat (this is an obsession with LOLcat, not the Bible, I think). We can collect, study, and dissect the minutia of whatever we like – we’ve got that kind of time on our hands.

In the Church world, we obsess about sin. Sin is the subject of our programs, policies, and procedures. Identifying and confronting the sin in ourselves and others is our chief industry and most common consideration.Â We spend a lot of time talking about who is wrongÂ in their beliefs and practices and making sure ours are not also wrong or sinful. We canÂ study, dissect, and disseminate the minutia of sin. We’ve got that kind of time on our hands.

It’s almost like we think Jesus died to keep us in the sin business.

I don’t mean “the business of sinning.” I mean the study of sin. How to avoid all sin. How to show others they are sinful. I think I take issue with that obsession. If I understand what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, I think it was primarily His job to convict the world of sin and righteousness. I am not saying we should never say “that is wrong.” For sure Jesus teaches us to correct one another (provided we have first removed the plank in our own eye)Â But if that is all we spend our time on, we may just have missed the point of the cross.

There’s no good acronym for “justice, mercy, humility.” JKH wouldn’t look good on a t-shirt. But it’s what God wants. He lays it out in Micah 6:

What God Requires of Man

Â Â Â Â ⁶With what shall I come to the LORD
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â And bow myself before the God on high?
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â With yearling calves?
Â Â Â Â ⁷Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams,
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â In ten thousand rivers of oil?
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Â Â Â Â ⁸He has told you, O man, what is good;
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â And what does the LORD require of you
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â But to do justice, to love kindness,
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â And to walk humbly with your God?Â

Interesting that this is an Old Testament statement, preceded by references to the sacrificial system. It is one of the most clear illustrations of God’s true heart toward us – He is more interested in justice, kindness, and humility than in sacrifices for sin.

Put it this way – Jesus died for our sins so we could get back to the real reason we were created.

Sin is not the point of Creation. Identifying and finding absolution for sin is not the main point of the new Creation Jesus makes possible. Sin is a distraction from our main purpose. Sin keeps us from being who we were meant to be. And here’s the kicker – we can’t free ourselves from sin. Jesus can. Thus the cross. That’s why Paul said we should no longer be slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness.

And once we’ve decided that’s what we must be, we have to figure out what that means – in the affirmative, not just the negative. I grew up being taught that following Jesus was all about the list of things you don’t do in order to avoid sin. I have no problem with that list (well, maybe some of the things on that list, but that’s the legalism discussion, and this is already too long). But it can’t just be that. It must also be the list of things we must DO.

And here’s the list – straight from the head honcho –

Do justice, love kindness,
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â And walk humbly with your God

And with that, I leave this for a bit – meditate, dear reader (and I use the singular on purpose – I have only one reader – hi reader!), on those three things – do justice, love kindness, walk humbly. And we will pick it up there – one post for each of the three. Now back to the story of Ceiling Cat making the UrfÂ (this link is surely one of the seven signs of the Apocalypse. The end is near).

Six: justice, kindness, humility – part one.

What God Requires of Man

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