Proverbs 11:1 The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.
Have you ever wondered why a verse like this is in the bible? Have you ever read something and really didn’t know what to do with it?
This is a short verse, a pragmatically simple one, that reveals God’s concern for even the little things. In biblical days they would measure grain and other products on the scale to determine price. Often a dishonest merchant would “tip the scale” by making the weights that counter balance the product inaccurate…thereby making a bit extra on each sale and cheating his customer. The customer may have thought he was getting a pound and walked away with only 15 ounces.
Over time the merchant made a lot of extra money, but what this verse highlights is that God hates the dishonesty that would cheat a trusting neighbor in a purchase. It’s really just a little thing, but it reveals the heart of God. He wants us to treat each other right, to be fair, to be honest and loving in our affairs….even in how we measure what we sell to others.
These short words not only speak to God’s hatred of dishonesty and cheating, but they tell me how far he goes with this….even down to the weight on the scale! And, to be honest, this isn’t about the weight of the product, it’s all about how we treat each other. God hates it when we value stuff more than we do the people around us. At the core, it’s a heart issue, isn’t it? What do I value more? The stuff I can get from you or YOU?
When I deal with you fairly I’m saying you are more important that the material goods we trade. That’s the issue- what’s most important to us? God’s concerned about these things even down to the last ounce of our interactions with others.
Even the little things are important to God because they speak to what is most important to us- the stuff or the people?
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