He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
James 1:19 NKJV
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Both of these verses show us three elements, characteristics of being a man (or woman) of God.
In Micah, it says we should (1) Act Justly, (2) Love Mercy, (3) Walk Humbly with God.
1. Act Justly: meaning to live according to God's Law. Do as Christ has done. Simple enough yet something we all struggle with daily.
2. Love Mercy: meaning (a) to be grateful for God's mercy towards us, but also (b) to generously share mercy with others, as Christ did with us.
3. Walk Humbly: meaning we shouldn't live a "proud" or "boastful" life. We must understand that we are nothing without God's power. Live humbly, giving all glory to God, not ourselves.
In James, it says we should be (1) Quick to Hear, (2) Slow to Speak, (3) Slow to become Angry.
1. Quick to Hear: meaning we (a) should take time to listen to the Lord's Will for us. Also meaning (b) we should listen to the concerns of others, hear them out in arguments to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
2. Slow to Speak: meaning literally to think before you speak. Don't say something you'll live to reret in the future. As humans, we make this mistake often.
3. Slow to become Angry: meaning stop and think about what you're about to get fired up about. Ask yourself if it will matter in 10 years? 10 months? 10 days? or even in 10 minutes? 9 times out of 10 it won't matter, we just want to throw a fit and get mad.
My wife and I have been married for just over a year now. If you ask any married couple they'll tell you the first years are the hardest. I can testify to it. It's not a bad thing, but during this time you really learn who your spouse is. You'll fight over meaningless things (toilet paper, window curtains, which side of the bed is "yours", etc.) To me I think its a power thing. Neither person wants to give up power, they both want to be "in charge." But guess what? It doesn't matter, it should all be 50/50 with GOD in CONTROL!
My wife and I have tried something new and its been working so far. Before we get mad we stop and think "will this matter in __ years? If no then we just drop it. It has saved us multiple useless arguments.
I encourage you to review these characteristics from Micah and James. Use them as a model for your own life.
In Christ,
Bro. Austin
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