Recently, I read Micah 6:3-8! I learned three things about God and sin. The message in this passage flows with clarity.
God is personally affected by our sins. (v 3-5).  God begins, by revealing his heart, with a question.

“O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!”

This is not the reaction I expected from God. I never thought that God could be so personally hurt by my sin. When I sin, God feels that I am tired of him. God sounds more like a friend, trying to work out what they have done wrong in a relationship, than a King demanding obedience. God follows up his question with a reminder effectively saying, ‘Remember the history we have? Remember how I saved you and protected you?’

While God desires genuine apologies, he does not want big “sorries”. (v 6-7)

In the Old Testament, sacrifices were expressions of apology to God. Micah, in his guilt, thought God would be pleased with a big sorry in the form of great sacrifice. How often do we, as people, after saying sorry, want to make it up to the other person to prove ourselves? Dare I say, do we socially bribe a person to accept us again? But God cannot be bribed … we have nothing he wants anyway.

What pleases God?

God is more concerned with what we do with our “sorries” than their size. (v 8)

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?

God wants those who walk away from him to walk back to him and then get back to walking with him. Next time you sin, own it by apologising then get back to walking through life with the best friend you’ll ever have