How should followers of Jesus respond in a time of political turmoil and cultural fragmentation, when the loudest voices often drown out the wisest?
I recently reflected on this question with a group of young professionals in Brussels. We began with the ancient words of the prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) These three virtues: justice, mercy, and humility, offer a compass for our conduct in an age of polarization.
Acting justly: anchored in truth
Justice begins with truth. In a time when misinformation and manipulation run rampant, Christians must be people of truth—both factual and moral. We cannot manipulate truth, even if it serves our argument. To act justly means to pursue what is right, not what is merely advantageous or popular.
Justice resists the tribal instinct to divide the world into us and them.
Justice calls us to see the image of God in every person—even those whose views we find objectionable.
Justice resists the tribal instinct to divide the world into us and them. Justice refuses to weaponize faith for political gain.
Acting justly means speaking truth to power—exposing the lies and half-truths. It means speaking truth in love to our neighbors, to our communities, and to our own hearts. It means seeking the common good; the good of all, not just our own tribe, especially the marginalized and voiceless.
Justice is not vengeance; it is restorative. Justice longs for relationships and societies to be set right, not simply punished. Justice seeks shalom. Justice stands as a quiet revolution against the shouting matches of our age: it listens, discerns, and heals.
Loving mercy: grounded in love
Mercy is the posture of love in a broken world.
Mercy is the posture of love in a broken world. It recognizes that all of us stand in need of grace. In a polarized culture, mercy looks like patience, forgiveness and empathy. Mercy chooses to understand before condemning.
The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) instructs us that to love mercy is to treat the so-called "other", our opponents, not as enemies to be destroyed but as neighbors to be loved. Mercy transcends tribe and ideology. Mercy crosses boundaries, heals wounds, and restores dignity.
Mercy also calls us to resist the cynicism that saturates political life. When everything becomes a power game, mercy reminds us that compassion is the most transformative force on earth. We can practice mercy in our conversations, around dinner tables, in political debates, or on social media, by refusing to humiliate, caricature, or dehumanize those who differ from us.
Loving mercy does not allow us to retreat from the public square, but to enter it with gentleness. Mercy enables us to engage culture not as culture warriors, but as culture healers; as people who speak truth seasoned with grace.
Walking humbly: rooted in hope
We are not the saviors of the world, Christ is.
Humility is a rare virtue in public life today. In an age of outrage and self-promotion, walking humbly is counter-cultural. Humility reminds us we are not the saviors of the world, Christ is. We do not have all the answers; we are still learners in the school of grace.
Humility keeps us from idolizing political movements or leaders. Humility allows us to confess when we have been wrong. It frees us to listen before speaking, to learn from others, and to trust that God is at work even in ways we do not understand.
Walking humbly is ultimately an act of hope. It trusts that God’s purposes are not thwarted by human folly or failure. While justice grounds us in truth and mercy roots us in love, humility buoys us with hope—the quiet confidence that truth will prevail, and light will overcome darkness. Hope reminds us that the story is not yet finished.
Justice, mercy, and humility are thus grounded on truth, love, and hope.
Truth without love becomes harsh and divisive; love without truth becomes sentimental and weak; hope without either becomes naive.
Truth without love becomes harsh and divisive; love without truth becomes sentimental and weak; hope without either becomes naive. Truth confronts lies, but it does so with love. Love builds bridges, but it does so without abandoning truth. Hope sustains both, reminding us that the story is not yet finished.
Jesus described the impact of his followers who incarnate these virtues in the world with yet another triplet: as "the salt of the earth", "the light of the world", and "yeast in the dough".
Salt preserves and adds flavor—it prevents decay. Light reveals and guides—it dispels fear. Yeast works invisibly and pervasively—it transforms the whole from within.
In times of culture war, the option is neither withdrawal nor domination. Salt, light, and yeast suggest a different strategy: faithful presence as a faithful minority.
Think about it: salt, light, and yeast each constitute a very small part of the meal, the room, or the loaf—yet each transforms the whole. Let us we go into all the world and live it out.
Originally published by Weekly Word. Republished with permission.
Jeff Fountain and his wife Romkje are the initiators of the Schuman Centre for European Studies. They moved to Amsterdam in December 2017 after living in the Dutch countryside for over 40 years engaged with the YWAM Heidebeek training centre. Romkje was founder of YWAM The Netherlands and chaired the national board until 2013. Jeff was YWAM Europe director for 20 years, until 2009. Jeff chaired the annual Hope for Europe Round Table until 2015, while Romkje chaired the Women in Leadership network until recently. Jeff is author of Living as People of Hope, Deeply Rooted and other titles, and also writes weekly word, a weekly column on issues relating to Europe.
Weekly Word is an initiative of The Schuman Centre for European Studies. Jeff Fountain is a New Zealander holding a Dutch passport, is currently the director of the Schuman Centre for European Studies (www.schumancentre.eu), and lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Jeff graduated with a history degree from the University of Auckland (1972) and worked as a journalist on the New Zealand Herald (1972-3), and as travelling secretary for Tertiary Student Christian Fellowship (TSCF) (1973). He has lived in the Netherlands since 1975, and has travelled and spoken in almost every European country. For twenty years following the fall of communism, he was the European director for the international and interdenominational mission organisation, Youth With A Mission. He was chairman of the international, trans-denominational movement, Hope for Europe, for which he organised two pan-European congresses in Budapest in 2002 and 2011. In 2010, he established the Schuman Centre for European Studies (www.schumancentre.eu) to promote biblical perspectives on Europe’s past, present and future, to encourage effective engagement in issues facing Europe today.
