Weighing The Truth

As I stepped up on to the scales I held my breath waiting for the numbers on the screen to settle on my exact weight.

Deuteronomy 25:1-19

Reference:  v.15  You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (NIV Bible)

 

Explore:  Standing on a set of scales is never a really pleasurable experience for me.  A couple of months ago I decided to work really hard at losing some weight.  I jumped on my scales at home and weighed myself.  Yes, still after many years and many diets this experience still wasn't pleasurable, but I had a goal to lose weight and I started working towards doing so.  As part of my strategy I decided to visit the local gym.  There I would use the cross trainer, the exercise bikes and the treadmill.  Around the cardio machines there was also a set of electronic scales.  For the first couple of visits I didn't go near them.  I seemed to create a 5 metre perimeter around the scales and feared to go anywhere near them.  It was bad enough weighing myself in the bathroom at home let alone in a public place surrounded by many inquisitive eyes.  A month or so passed and I was quite pleased that I had lost some weight.   So, after a particularly good work out at the gym I decided to gather up my courage, break the 5 metre perimeter and weigh myself on the gym scales.  As I stepped up on to the scales I held my breath waiting for the numbers on the screen to settle on my exact weight.  And when I looked down at the numbers you can imagine my horror when it showed that I was 3 kilos heavier than my scales at home.  How could this be?  Had I really drunk that much water during my gym visit?!  But then I realised that not all scales are the same.  While the gym scale may show that I am heavier than reality, it may actually be that my scales at home show that I am actually lighter.  Which is correct, I'll never know but I'm pretty sure you can guess which set of scales I'll be referring to if I ever have to declare my weight in public!

Application:  When the Israelites were buying and selling produce in the markets, an accurate set of scales would have been very important.  It would have been easy to tip the scales one way or another to make more money.  While it may have only been a very small adjustment it seems that even simple business transactions were important to God.  God desired honesty even down to the weighing of produce.  Honesty is still a value that God rates highly.  In your line of work it may not be a set of scales that can be tampered with but maybe the ability to bend the truth here or there to make yourself look more favourable.  Yet God directs us to be honest in all our interactions with people as it not only reflects our heart and is also an act of worship to Him.  He found dishonesty detestable thousands of years ago and I don't think that scale has changed.

Prayer:  Lord, it is often easier to bend the truth so that we look favourable to those around us.  May we desire to have a heart that is favourable only to You.  Amen.

Take special notice of your conversations.  How easily do you find it to bend the truth?

Deuteronomy