PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight” (Proverbs 11:1 KJV).

Now, in the physical sense, it is talking about weights and measures and telling us to be honest in business dealings and that sort of thing.

“A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work” (Proverbs 16:11 KJV).

Here the concept is stated a bit more clearly in the relation of carefully weighing a product, in other words, it is all the right weight. When the bag says one pound, it contains one pound. When a retailer would weigh out an item for a customer—some people were shady and were shaving the scale a bit so that when the customer thought he was getting two pounds, it was short an ounce or two. Obviously then the proprietor is making money and cheating his customer. What Christian does not realize that they owe their employer eight hours of work for eight hours of pay. You may have a great spoken witness for the Lord, but your unspoken witness is generally the thing that the lost are going to listen to before they ever hear your word for the Lord. Paul wrote: “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of all men” (Romans 12:17).

The Bible therefore says that a balance that is not really true is an abomination. It is just a matter of being right. God just hates a person that cheats people. It’s stealing, it’s lying, it’s deceitful. It’s usually done by people that are very proud and self-righteous and believes that they deserve it. And that they need it more than anybody else needs it. I mean, I have to take care of my kids and if I can cheat you out of a buck, well, I’m just better than you. It’s really just thinking more of yourself than you think about anyone else. God hates that and it’s nothing more than satanic pride.

The Bible is a rock of diamonds, a chain of pearls, the sword of the Spirit, a chart by which the Christian sails to eternity, the map by which he daily walks, the sundial by which he sets his daily life, the balance by which he weighs his actions.

Daily Bible study is necessary if we are going to begin our day with the right attitude and the right spiritual diet. Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, so let's read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let's keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread! Ideally, a chapter or two of Proverbs will fit in nicely with a good plan of reading our Bibles through each year.

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