Day 59 - 90 Days in Proverbs - A False Balance
Proverbs 11:1 [NKJV] A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.
No one wants to pay for a half pound of sliced cheese and receive just a quarter pound. We don’t want the deli worker to put his or her thumb on the scale to save the company money at our expense. We trust that the scale that weighs out our fruit is accurate. We expect 12 donuts when we pay for a dozen. We demand full value for what we buy and we have a right to do so.
Our employers expect a full day of work from us in exchange for our pay. And we expect the full pay we agreed to.
All of the fair and honest dealings we expect to receive in this life are things that God expects His children to do. He expects a fair exchange whether I am the buyer or seller, employer or employee. Anything short of that is a form of lying or false balance and is an abomination to God.
But the Father Himself, while dealing with His children, does not offer us this kind of fair exchange. There is no fair pay for our deeds. Instead, when Jesus stepped on the scale of justice, He tipped it in our favor. When He paid for sin, He did not pay for His own sin. He didn’t have any. Instead, He paid a costly and unfair price for the burdens of my sins (and yours). The penalty He paid for the sins weighed out to His charge was far and beyond what He earned because He, Himself, earned absolutely no penalty for sin on His own. All the penalty He paid for all that sin – well, that’s on us. We should have paid it.
If God were to give me my just wage, I know it would be death. Romans 6:23 [NIV] tells us: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Instead of death – instead of the just pay for my actions – I receive eternal life in Christ Jesus my Lord.
Any unjust scale in the world pales by comparison to the magnitude of the injustice of Jesus being beaten and crucified for me, for us. It is helpful to remember this when life serves up unfairness to me, as it is prone to do.
Sweet sisters, the Father expects us to be just and fair when we work, when we pay or when we transact in any way. However, this expectation has one exception – in the area of sin. In the area of sin, God expects us to be willing forgo revenge and any kind of pay back when we are sinned against, harmed or cheated by others in this life. Romans 12:19 [NKJV] says Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but [rather] give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance [is] Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Not only does He expect us to refrain from paying back with revenge, He actually expects us to pay back good for evil. [See Matthew 5:44-48]
Why does the Father ask us to refrain from giving just pay to those who sin against us – to actually pay back evil with good? Matthew 4:45 tells us: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: The Father asks us to refrain from paying others back for sin so that we can by like Him.
The scale that God uses to pay out the penalty for my sin, the scale that pivots all the weight of all my sin onto Jesus, my Savior, is the ultimate example of not getting what I pay for, and I am happy to accept it. The sacrifice of Jesus tips the scales in my favor. And our Father God gives me blessings I could never deserve or earn, well beyond forgiveness and eternal life.
I am called to do the same – to refrain from even what seems to be just and fair pay for others when they sin against me, leaving revenge or payback to God.
God expects a “just scale” from us in every other aspect of life. But I am happy that, when it comes to sin, God uses the most unjust measure of all: Jesus’s sacrifice in exchange for my sin.
Prayer — Father God, Thank You for tipping the scales in my favor through the sacrifice of Jesus. Thank You, my Savior Jesus, for paying what I earn from my sins. Please continue to forgive me and take on that debt. I will respond by forgiving others and doing good to them with the help of Your Holy Spirit in me. I will use a just scale for work, pay and goods in my life, but I trust in You, Father, and Your scale of loving justice to take away my debt of sin so that I may serve You. I ask for Your Spirit, Your forgiveness and Your help in the name of my precious Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Your thoughts —
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