Quote of the Week: Lists
“He has showed you, O man, 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 love making lists. I mean, really love it. Just ask Harry. We’ll be vegging out on a Sunday night trying to make the most of every remaining relaxing moment before the work week begins and I’ll start to freak out about everything that needs to happen that week or everything I didn’t get done over the weekend. And he’ll say, would it help you to make a list? So, I make a list and my shoulders relax and I put it out of my head and return to my relaxing evening. Lists can be a good thing for people like me.
They make me feel like I have some control over my day, my house, my work, my family, holidays…just about anything. If I can make a list, I can take a deep breath and know that it’s going to get done.
Sometimes, though, the whole list doesn’t get finished.
I know, it’s shocking, but I can’t really have control over every aspect of my life with a list–not matter how hard I try! And when that happens, I have to choose whether to be angry because my idol of perfectionism has failed me, or to be at peace with what did get done and rest in my identity in Christ.
My spiritual life is not immune to this activity either. I look at the verse above and see a list. Finally, something for me to check off in the Christian life! Number 1: Act justly….ok, I think I’ve got that one. I definitely try to be fair. Number 2: Love mercy….Who doesn’t love mercy? Then, Number 3: Walk humbly. hmmm. Then, it starts to get a little more complicated.
I definitely want justice and fairness for the things I think are wrong in the world, but what does “acting justly” really mean in my little world? What does it mean when I have a conflict with a coworker?
And I love mercy for myself, but I don’t always want it for someone that I feel has wronged me or a loved one. And is it just me, or is there a tension between acting justly and loving mercy?
And then, walking humbly with the Lord. Wow. So, even when I get a list, it’s still about my heart. Even when it’s boiled down into a list of three bullets, it’s still impossible to be obedient to the Lord and His commands without submitting my heart to Him in humility. And no matter how much I want to make one, there’s no list for that.