One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible comes from the Old Testament book of Micah. Micah was a prophet who lived around the time of the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. He was warning Judah of their need to return to a true worship of the Lord. While temple worship still went on, the people’s heart was really not in it.
Micah noted that the people’s half-hearted offerings were not really what pleased the Lord:
He has shown 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 (NIV)
I think this is one of those great summary scriptures in the Bible. It condenses so much of the law down into very simple terms.
So how do we apply that scripture to financial matters?
1. Act justly.
Looking at the dictionary definition of “justly,” it indicates that to act justly would mean to behave honestly and fairly. It also means to treat someone as deserved.
I think the biggest area this applies is in our business dealings. If you are an employee do you treat your employer with honesty and fairness? Do you give an honest day’s work for your wages? Do you cheat on your expense report because no one will ever know and it’s just a few dollars here or there anyway?
How about tax time? Do you make every effort to make sure your taxes accurately reflect your income and proper deductions? Or do you see how much you can push it because you think the government doesn’t deserve your money?
If you are a business owner or have workers under you that you manage, how do you treat them? Do you treat them as you would want to be treated?
If I had to boil this down to one word it would be integrity.
2. Love mercy.
How do you treat those less fortunate than you?
Aside from being able to provide for your family, one of the primary reasons for getting out of debt and building wealth is it gives you the ability to help those in need. It is very difficult to offer a hand in aid to someone when you are drowning yourself.
I’ve always found one of the most sobering of all of Jesus’ parables to be that of the sheep and the goats. Jesus is discussing what will happen in the final judgment. The major thrust of this parable is how do you treat those who are least able to repay the kindness that you have shown them. How do you respond when you see someone who is hungry or thirsty or in need? Do you respond in mercy?
The sobering part of this parable is that clearly the “goats” thought they were ok with God too. They refer to him as Lord and do not seem to understand how they have failed. The basic issue is they failed to have mercy when they came upon those that were in need.
When God blesses us financially we must be willing to respond in mercy to those in need. Make giving a top priority in your comprehensive budget.
3. Walk humbly.
Lastly, we are to walk humbly. How do we exhibit humility in our finances?
Do you take credit for your success? Or do you acknowledge God as the owner and provider of all that you have?
The truth is that God really does own it all. He simply allows us to manage a portion of his wealth for him for a period of time. When we recognize that we really can’t do anything without the blessings of God’s provision, it takes away our ability to boast of our own greatness.
In his book, The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas Stanley profiles the typical millionaire in the United States and the results are far from the stereotypical millionaire we see on TV. In fact, the whole premise of the book is that most of these millionaires could be your next door neighbor and you might not even know. They do not use their wealth to promote their social status. For the most part they tend to live very conservative and humble lives.
How do you view your finances? Is it a scorecard that you use to judge others? Do you use “stuff” as a status symbol to try to make others think more highly of you? Or is your stuff simply blessings God has allowed you to manage for a time for his glory? How do you view those that are less fortunate than you financially?
Final Thoughts
I love the simplicity of this verse from Micah. These simple have such a far-reaching impact on the lives that we lead. Few things reflect more accurately the state of our heart than how we handle the money and possessions that God entrusts with us.
These three simple commands provide us with a very simple but accurate measuring stick to evaluate our walk with the Lord. Are you handling your finances in a way that will please the Lord?
Which of these three commands do you find the easiest to follow? Which are the most difficult?