So far this year, we have talked about what it means to be a Godly father, mother, and friend. But what about when we aren’t operating in those roles specifically? I’m sure we would all like to know what it looks like just to be a plain ol’ human of God. Whether one is a parent or spouse, both, neither, or a child, the Bible still has plenty of instruction on how to be a man or woman of God. We could look at the 10 commandments, but I think we all know those pretty well by now. I want to dig a little deeper and see what other treasures there are to unearth.
Growing up, my father always read Proverbs 31 at the Shabbat table as a blessing over my mother. Afterward, she would turn to my father and read Psalm 112. In our bibles, the chapter starts with: “Happy is the man who fears Adonai.” I didn’t quite appreciate the exclusion of women, so I took my pen to paper and wrote “the person” in the margins. The chapter then went on as such: “How happy is the [person] who fears Adonai. Who greatly delights in His mitzvot (commands). His (or her) descendants will be powerful on earth, a blessed generation of upright people.” Already we can glean from this rich chapter that a godly person both fears God, and takes joy in God’s instructions. Not only that, but God will bless that person and his or her generation. The chapter goes on to say that this person “shines like a light in the dark, merciful, compassionate, and righteous.” Mercy and compassion are beacons. I think this is especially true in the world as it is now, so full of hate and contempt. Men and women of God will stand out because they are walking in that opposite spirit.
The Psalm goes on to say that a godly person is again merciful, that they lend, that they conduct their affairs with fairness. I find it striking that the word merciful is stated twice. Usually that means it’s important. I find it doubly significant that the second instance of mercy is connected to lending and being fair. Mercy itself is the act of showing forgiveness or leniency to a person who doesn’t deserve it. Couched between lending and fairness, I get the impression that God is asking us to be generous and fair even to people who are not generous, fair or maybe even good, at all.
The chapter continues, stating that a person of God will not be frightened by bad news (easier said than done, huh?) but that they “remain steady, trusting in Adonai.” This Godly person “distributes freely, he (or she) gives to the poor.” And at the end of all of this, his or her righteousness will stand forever.
So to recap Psalm 112, a man or woman of God is as follows: delights in God’s instructions, is a light in the dark, is merciful, compassionate, righteous, and fair. They lend, and freely give to the poor, all while remaining steady and trusting in the Lord. He never said following Him would be easy, did He. I for one thank Him on the daily that he is even more merciful than I could ever be.
And just when you thought that was enough to live up to, let’s throw in a couple more verses to really round out this man or woman of God we are all endeavoring to be. First up, 1 Timothy 6:11. It says, “But as for you, O man of God…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” It is interesting to me that he tells us to pursue steadfastness. Another way of saying that would be perseverance. Pursuit is going after or chasing. So, part of being a man or woman of God is that we chase after a persevering attitude. We should aim to be people who hang in there even when things get hard. When the faith is tested, when the love feels impossible, when being gentle seems to get you nowhere, when someone who wronged you is asking for mercy, pursue steadfastness and finish the race set before you.
Next, we will look at Micah 6:8. It says, “ He has told you, O man, 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.” This one doesn’t seem so difficult, right? So first thing’s first: do justice. This means to act in a just manner. So what does that mean? Doing what is just means doing what is morally right. We as believers get our morals from the Lord and His word. So, to do justice means to behave in a way that is morally right according to the word of God. Easy peasy. Next, love kindness. This one may come more naturally to some than to others, but I do think it is rather self explanatory. If you love kindness you are more likely to be kind and to draw kindness out of those around you by your own spirit. Next, walk humbly with your God. This one is a little deeper I think. Humility is in essence, a thinking less of oneself. Not in a low self-esteem, self hatred kind of way, but in a putting others first sometimes kind of way. In this case, humility with God, meaning putting Him above ourselves at all times. Again, easier said than done, I know. But God has effective ways of letting us know when we’ve gotten too big for our britches, if you know what I mean. According to Micah, this is all the Lord has asked of you.
The last verse I want to look at is 1 Kings 2:2-4 which states: “Be strong, and show yourself a man (or woman), and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do.” And here we come full circle, delighting in the instructions of the Lord. To be a man or woman of God, we are asked, in essence, to keep Torah, which is such a beautiful thing that we may delight in it. And as an added bonus, doing this will help us prosper in all that we do. Because God does not seem to just ask us to do things or act in a way for the heck of it, or just for Himself. He knows that the things He’s asked us to do are actually for our own good. Just another way in which He shows us how much He loves us.
So there you go. Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, son, daughter, wife, or husband: there is a way for us all to be just regular ol’ humans of God.
