Psalm of Small Obediences

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What principles define how you live?

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Teach me, O God,
not to win, but to walk.
Not to fix, but to stay faithful
to the quiet work of right and mercy.

You have shown us what is good:
to act justly —
not only in grand moments
but in the slow, unseen fairness
of listening well,
of keeping promises,
of saying the hard truth kindly.

To love mercy —
not as sentiment
but as a daily posture:
to forgive before it is asked,
to see the story beneath the fault,
to give more than the rule requires.
To let compassion interrupt efficiency.

To walk humbly —
to remember that strength is borrowed,
that every decision is a trust,
that wisdom is not owned but shared.
To kneel before what I do not understand
and still take the next step.

In the office, in the corridor, in the hearing room —
teach me to hold justice and mercy together,
as if balancing light in both hands.
No punishment without the hope of forgiveness,
no mercy without the courage of truth.

And when some call me too hard
and others too soft,
remind me that the narrow road
was always your road,
and the dust of it still clings to grace.

Amen.

Based on Micah 6:8
“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.”