Before A Fall
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
To Walk Humbly –What does Micah have in mind? What characteristics and actions portray walking humbly? Do you think it means self-effacing, modest, submissive or unassuming behavior? Do you get mental pictures of the unimportant, demeaned or servile? You might list all these as contemporary synonyms, but the meaning of the Hebrew word Micah uses is very narrow. It is only found in one other place in the Bible. That is in Proverbs 11:2 where the word is used in contrast to the fatal flaw of humanity – pride. So, if we know what the Bible means by “pride”, we will have a pretty good picture of this word too. It will be just the opposite.
“To walk humbly” is the combination of tsana and yalak (the Hebrew is literally “to be humble to walk”). The opposite is zadon – a presumptive arrogance that relies on human cunning, engineering and effort to secure personal status. In the Bible, this kind of pride is marked by an inflated sense of authority (“I am in charge of things around here.”), a rebellious disobedience (“I don’t have to listen to you!”) and willful selfishness (“It’s my life. I can do what I want.”). Pride is more than hubris. It is an attempted demonic coup d’etat of God’s right to reign and rule.
What, then, is walking humbly? Now the answer emerges with startling clarity. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27 from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18). To walk humbly is to deliberately place yourself under the complete reign and rule of God and then, act accordingly in every aspect of life. Humility encompasses heart, soul, mind, strength and relationships. Anything less is zadon.
Micah railed against the Israelites for their pretentious religious practices, mimicking worship without total surrender. Are we any different? Don’t we espouse humility at the same time that we withhold that smallest part of obedience and surrender? Don’t we claim humility while we continue to act as though we are really in charge of our destinies (and those of anyone we can command)? Don’t we laud humility but still think that life should be lived the way we want it to be?
Micah gives us the right word, boiled down to its pure essence. Not one of us walks humbly if there remains a place for pride in the corners of life. And pride, we have discovered, is a good deal more subtle than strutting our stuff. Pride simply asks God to step down from the throne, just this once, just for a moment. No man walks humbly unless he is fully obedient.
