Proverbs 16-18 Scales that bring life

July 18th, Proverbs 16-18

       Today's devotion is brought to you in memory of my Granddad who invested his life in the pursuit of honest scales. "A just balance and scales are the Lords; all the weights in the bag are his work." My Granddad was tasked with helping to form the Kansas Department of Weights and Measures in his day. One of the noble pursuits of government all throughout history is to make sure people are using honest weights. For those trying to cheat people, you could have one set of weights for buying and another set of weights for selling and make some extra for yourself. Old historical weights are to have the King's stamp on them to prove they are accurate.
       Think about how many times today an accurate measure will mean something to you. Do you get a full gallon of gas, does the food package have the 12, 16 oz it says. When you buy a pound of meat does that include the packaging and over the course of a year how many plastic bags are we all paying for (the ones we fill with fruit and vegetables) ?
       Scales are at the heart of society, they are at the heart of justice and thus the symbol for our justice system. When there is no justice, when no scale is accurate, dishonest people can take advantage of others. It would be nice to just trust others, but some accountability, a department that checks the accuracy of weights and measures is an excellent use of government resources. Doing what's right has to be encouraged because that's not our nature.
        I invite all of us to investigate our scales. James speaks of a rich man getting a seat of honor and the poor told to be somewhere else. That's a bad scale. Love your enemy, pray for those who hurt you is a sign that our weights are true and the scale sits balanced. The integrity, righteousness, and honesty that God calls us to is a blessing to all who walk with us. May the weights in our bag be determined by the Lord and and not us.