May 6
The Death of Truth
Pr 20:10 Divers weights, and divers measures,
both of them are alike abomination to the LORD
The lady shook her head as she said “No, we are
having company and I need a larger chicken.” The butcher removed the 3 pound
chicken from the scales, went to the cooler and discovered he was out of
chickens. He just had that one 3 lb chicken. So he slipped a 1 pound weight inside the
chicken and returned to the scales.
“There you are Ma’am. A nice plump 4 pound
chicken.” The lady smiled and said “Great, I’ll take both of them.”
Dishonesty is nothing new. The book of proverbs
mentions it often. In our verse for today it talks about diverse weights. Even
today in some market places goods are weighed on a simple hand held balance
scale. A weight is placed on one side of a scale and the goods are placed on
the other side. When the scales are level that means the goods weigh the same
as the weight. Dishonest merchants would have different (diverse) weights. A
weight that was labeled one pound but was actually heavier than a pound was
used when buying and a lighter than one pound weight was used when selling. By
using different weights he could cheat both his suppliers and his customers.
De 25:13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag
divers weights, a great and a small.
Even though few of us use “diverse” weights
today dishonesty is seemingly on the increase. How many times have you been
told something was “free” on the Internet only to discover it was not.
I was recently in a store where I saw a box
that said MADE IN AMERICA, but when I looked closer the word “box” was in tiny
print in front of MADE. The box was made
in America.
Another time I was in a large dealership buying
a used car. I asked what the $125 processing fee was. “Oh, that is a fee the
state requires us to collect.” The truth is the state allows dealers to add on
up to $250 processing fee, for extra profit. It is not required. I didn’t pay
it.
As
Christians we live by a different standard. That standard was reflected in our
culture years ago when a handshake meant something, and advertisers simply told
you the advantages of their products without resorting to deception. But as our
culture drifts away from Biblical Christianity, honesty has slowly declined.
As Christians we are supposed to be lights in
this darkening world. During the Sermon
on the Mount Christ said to let our light shine before men.
Mt 5:16 Let your light so shine before men,
that they may
see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
In Romans we are reminded;
Ro 12:17 … Provide things honest
in the sight of all men.
There should be no question of ethical behavior and
honest dealings with Christians. Even more important than how man sees us is
how God views our thoughts and actions.
2Co 8:21 Providing for honest things, not only in the
sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
We should not let our minds even dwell on being
dishonest, but rather on truth. Getting too much change or not being charged
for something may seem small but there should be no thought of keeping the
money, or not paying for something.
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
In our post-modern world where everything is
relative and men do that which is right in their own eyes (Judges
21:25) it is increasingly difficult to not be conformed to
this world. But that is our responsibility as CHRISTians. That does not mean we
should use a horse and buggy and do without electricity. It does mean we should
maintain the ethical standards of the Bible and not conform to the unethical
methods many have adopted today.
“Everyone else is doing it” is not
justification for Christians to conform.
May God bless us today as we daily cleanse the
lens of our life to be sure our light shines brightly for Christ. That is the
meditation for today. May we continually look for spots and smudges or anything
that would diminish our light from shining brightly on a world that desperately
needs all the light it can get.
The appropriate melody for us to sing to
ourselves today is the old children”s chorus
“This little light of mine, I’m
going to let it shine…”
Ro 12:2 And be not
conformed to this world…
