One of my favorite vacation spots is Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. I love the fact that we check our luggage, board a plane, and from that point on are under the Disney umbrella. The Disney Magical Express picks us up at the airport and whisks us away to what the public relations people call “the most magical place on Earth,” where we can enjoy fun rides and where my wife (this is her favorite part) doesn’t have to cook or clean.

While I was there recently, I witnessed something decidedly “unmagical” that snapped me back to reality. An elderly woman and her fragile, wheelchair-bound husband wanted to ride the Tower of Terror. He needed a seat in the front row because, when he had to leave his wheelchair behind and use his cane, he shook terribly and couldn’t maneuver the steps to get to the back rows. His wife asked for front seats, but people refused to budge.

“We’ve been standing in line and want these seats!” a burly front-rower declared, crossing his arms defiantly in front of his chest.

“But he can’t climb the steps to the back row,” the wife pleaded softly.

It was a spectacle to behold, a perfect example of how to be your own selfish pig: seven young, beefy, able-bodied men refusing to help two feeble seniors. Eventually, the couple got the seats they needed, but not before the Lord reminded me of the importance of Micah 6:8: “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?”

God wants us to be honest, fair, and merciful in everything we do. The idea of justice is complete fairness in every situation, not based on power, position, or monetary status. Since God does not change, His requirements for us do not change. He never wants us to be our own selfish pigs.

He expects us to “love mercy.” The Hebrew word for “mercy” is hesed, which literally means “lovingkindness.” The Lord demonstrates His mercy to us time and again. His greatest demonstration, of course, was sending His Son, the Lord Jesus, to Earth to become the final sacrifice for sin for every mean, lost, selfish, egotistical sinner who ever lived. We deserve to be punished for our sin. But in His mercy, He took our punishment on Himself; and in His grace, He offers us eternal life if we place our faith in Him.

The world of today finds it difficult to extend mercy. We are much like the wicked servant in Jesus’ parable. The servant experienced a tremendous outpouring of mercy as his king forgave his enormous debt, but then the servant refused to forgive a fellow servant a small pittance (Matthew 18:21–35). We who have experienced God’s amazing mercy and grace should find it easy to show mercy to those we meet.

Micah 6:8 tells how to avoid becoming our own selfish pig: by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God.

About the Author

Tom Simcox

Tom Simcox is the Church Ministries Department training coordinator and a Bible teacher for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. He is also a guest lecturer at Word of Life Bible Institute, an instructor at The Friends of Israel’s Institute of Jewish Studies, and an award-winning writer for The Friends of Israel’s bimonthly magazine, Israel My Glory.