“A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight.”
I was recently struck by how many times this theme comes up in Scripture. It is in the Old Testament law (Leviticus 19:35-36, Deuteronomy 25:13-15),and it is mentioned four times in Proverbs. Here, and again in Proverbs 16:11, Proverbs 20:10, and Proverbs 20:23.
God values accuracy. He wants His people to honestly deal with one another. None of this rounding up when it helps you and down when it doesn’t. We are to be people of truth. Now I am imagining that many of us do not daily deal with actual weights and measures. We are probably not in the habit of ripping people off in our Old West dry goods store. So it may seem that this scriptural emphasis is not terribly relevant in our times, or at least in our lives. So let’s consider for a moment some of the ways that we are inclined to use unequal weights and measures in our lives.
First of all, lets consider our children. What are some of the ways that we might put our thumbs on the scale when dealing with them? What about not forgiving the last offense when dealing with the current one? Are you truly wiping their slate clean each time you are forgiving them, or are you letting a residue of old sins weigh the scales against them? Are you exaggerating their sins based on how annoying or destructive they are? Are you inclined to be lenient to a child you sympathize with – unjustly weighing their siblings against them? Are you putting your children in the scales – not to weigh them against God’s law, but rather against your friend’s children? Do your children have a reason to trust your judgment? Do they know you are sincere and fair? Or is it always up in the air how Mom will react?
And what about yourself? Do you treat your sin lightly because you always take into account being tired, being pregnant, being needy, being afflicted? Do you use the same standards when you weigh the sins of others against you? Or do you tip the scales in your favor again? Is everyone else always being malicious and you are simply forgetful?
As the people of God, we need to love what He loves, and hate what He hates. And one of the things that He has clearly expressed hatred of is this sort of deceit. Make your measures His measures, and keep your thumbs off of the scales.
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Ouchouchouch. And thank you for this.
You guys are constantly bringing relevance to scripture, things that I assume don’t apply to my life actually do! Thank you! I see my sin in a few of these scenarios!
Excellent. Just excellent. Sincere thanks for you ladies taking the time to write these dailies out for us to glean from. Can’t imagine you’re inundated with extra time, and thankful you spend some writing here. Gonna go adjust my scales 😉
Thanks again!
A much needed lesson. Lord, help me with this.
When I read the scripture I was excited to see how you’d apply this to motherhood. Thanks for making it real and relevant to all of life.
Thank you so much for this! I’ve read these verses and thought that they didn’t seem relevant…and yet they are very much so! Thanks for sharing your insight and helping me see where I need to grow!