Putting People First

Read: Micah 6:1-8 

"No, O people, the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
-Micah 6:8 (NLT)

People matter more than schedules. People matter more than programs. Making people a priority means putting people first. This is the way Jesus lived. This is the way God wants us to live. After all--it is people who receive salvation. Micah tells the people, "The Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).

Doing what is right means living rightly as a parent, a wife, or a single person in my home or workplace. It means responding rightly to wrong behavior and judging rightly when conflicts arise.

Having mercy means I have a passionate concern that those who cannot speak up for themselves receive justice. This concern may lead me to get involved in prison ministry, PTA meetings, refugee resettlement, or practical concern for unborn children or unwed mothers. Such activities sometimes have to come before my own career advancement or ambition.

Walking humbly with my God will manifest itself in my esteeming others as better than myself. It will mean not pushing my own agenda or trampling over others' efforts. Living up to these requirements will result in my treating people as Christ would treat them, looking out for others' interests before my own, and generally putting people first day by day. Putting people first will make you more like Jesus, who always made sure his relationships, first with God and then with people, were top priorities.
 

Taken from the One Year Book of Devotions for Women; © 2000 by Jill Briscoe. Published by Tyndale House Publishers. Used by permission.