Be the change you want to see

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? — Micah 6:8

Jesus knew the teachings of the prophets and turned to those lessons often as he modeled for others what a life filled with shalom could look like. On our Lenten journey, we turn to this oft-recited Scripture passage from the prophet Micah and discover two little words that can make all the difference in our broken world: “to do.” We are not only to hear about the work of justice, but we are also to do that work. And we are not only called to seek justice from others, but we must also behave justly ourselves.

Micah calls us to look within ourselves, our organizations and our communities to make sure we are behaving justly. If we discover injustice within our lives and communities, we must have enough humility to acknowledge our missteps and correct our mistakes. We must also have the kindness to apologize and ask forgiveness for our mistakes. We cannot only expect others to change. We must also be the change we want to see.

Lord, please give me the strength and humility to look for injustices within myself. Give me the courage to acknowledge my mistakes and give me the strength to change. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.