At this point, we are about one-third of the way through the Proverbs that we are going to study. I hope that this series has been of some benefit to you up to this point.
Today, we focus on Proverbs 11:1 that states, "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight." This Proverb teaches us about being honest and fair in business, and it teaches us about not taking advantage of the poor and trying to oppress others who don't have much.
In the day that Proverbs was written, and in our day too, merchants used weights and balances in order to measure out grain and other produce that they were selling in the marketplace. It was expected that a merchant would fairly measure out the amount of the product that you wanted. However, there are unscrupulous people who want to make a little more money at the expense of another person. They would use false measures in order to provide less product than what was being paid for.
Of course, we know as believers in Jesus that He would not want us to cheat in our business dealings in any way. A Christian business person should be the most honest and forthright business person that there is anywhere. His or her reputation for honesty should be above reproach.
This Proverb is also about making sure that the poor are not taken advantage of. A false balance is an abomination because it causes harm to those who can't afford to be oppressed or taken advantage of. A poor person might just barely have enough money to pay for food and the bare necessities of life. If someone is trying to take advantage, it can cause real harm to a poor person and that person's family.
The Lord cares about what happens to the poor. He wants us to help the poor and the oppressed. He wants us to work to bring about justice and end systems of oppression in this world.
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