Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight. – Proverbs 11:1
My friend Forrest told about a trip he and his friend Archie took to Israel.
They were in the market area of Old Town Jerusalem when they came to a middle-aged merchant selling fresh fruit and vegetables.
Forrest spotted a nearby ladder that towered above the hanging scales where the merchant weighed the purchases. He climbed it to get a picture of the merchant and the beauty of the display.
As he focused on the scales just above the merchant’s head, sitting squarely in the middle of the tray was a rock. Every customer had that extra weight charged into the purchase price.
Forrest called Archie aside to have him take a look. They both decided they weren’t interested in purchasing anything.
In a story that occurred approximately sixteen miles east of Jerusalem and twenty centuries prior to Forrest’s discovery, there lived a man who was a tax collector. As was the custom of his generation, this man assessed considerably more than the government required, pocketing the extra for his own lavish lifestyle.
One day, Jesus was coming through town, and the man joined hundreds of people to hear what He had to say. But the man was short in stature and could not see over the heads of so many people blocking his view. So he climbed into a nearby tree where he could see and hear the guest speaker.
Jesus looked up, saw him sitting in the tree and called him by name, ordering him to come down. And Jesus promised that He would go with the man and have lunch at his house.
Instead of trying to cover his tracks for his deceptions, the man knew that he needed to straighten up and fly right in the presence of Jesus. He promised to pay back four times what he had taken.
Contrast that with a secretary for Pastor John Preechet. One lie led to another until she not only lost her job but quite likely killed any possibility of getting another.
That’s how deception works. Once people get too close to the truth, the deceiver devises Plan B, and on and on it goes until at last they have painted themselves into an inescapable corner.
It is always best to keep on the high road of life, leaving the rocks far from the scales.
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