The ugly side of a prideful heart

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.   Micah 6:8

I've been thinking a lot about Micah 6:8 in the past few weeks. It has become a constant commentary in my mind as I learn more about international adoption and the unfathomable conditions children in orphanages endure. In typical INFJ fashion I have become all-consumed with seeking justice for children who lack the voice and means to do it themselves. And in typical Kelsey fashion, I grab on like a rabid dog and my desire is to pound it into people's heads, "Don't you understand how serious this is??"

And this morning I read these words in Jen Hatmaker's 7:
"But God is teaching me to walk humbly- daily simply, quietly. It is in the walking humbly that God trains me for acting justly and loving mercy. Being aware of God's presence is a powerful catalyst for courage later. Acting on the latter without the former is just charity, not worship. Plenty of people enact justice without devotion to Jesus. There is no salvation in that, no devotion. That well of mercy will run dry without replenishment, without supernatural motivation.

If more of us took the "walk humbly with your God" part seriously, we might become agent of justice and mercy without even meaning to."

Can I get an "amen?"

A life-long family friend said the other day when I posted Micah 6:8 on Facebook that the "walking humbly" part is the most difficult for her- I get it. My heart isn't humble. My heart is full of pride, self-serving pride.

I want less of me, less of the ugly things in my heart that make me want to pound my message into people's heads. May I learn to walk humbly, and quietly, with my God so that I become an agent of justice and mercy without even meaning to.