Daily Worship

Givers not takers

Norah Summers November 25, 2015 0 0

Micah 6: 6-8

What the Lord Requires

6 What shall I bring to the Lord, the God of heaven, when I come to worship him? Shall I bring the best calves to burn as offerings to him? 7 Will the Lord be pleased if I bring him thousands of sheep or endless streams of olive oil? Shall I offer him my first-born child to pay for my sins? 8 No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God.

O Lord, what a picture -
we don’t do these things any more –
burnt offerings,
precious possessions destroyed,
to appease capricious and angry deities.

We have learned better,
we are civilised.

But do we do what is just,
show constant love,
and live in humble fellowship with you, our God?

Real justice in our world
would demand of us much sacrifice,
but instead, we take.

The world is very unequal,
and we have made it so.

Rich companies want labour on the cheap,
so that share-holders may be satisfied.

Rich corporations avoid tax,
while public services are cut to the bone.

Forests and seas are plundered,
habitats of people and animals are destroyed,
sacrificed to profit and greed.

We do not treat each other with justice,
we do not show constant love,
we do not receive your gifts with humility.

God forgive us
our greed, our carelessness, our arrogance.

Keep us mindful of the needs of others,
willing to be givers, not takers.

And when we do take,
give us a proper sense of gratitude,
a grace in receiving,
a respect for the giver.