DATE POSTED: Thursday, June 29, 2023, and I was blessed to be at Houston, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find, read or listen to any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE Amplified Bible (AMP) IS FOUND IN Proverbs 11:1

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: A false balance and dishonest business practices are extremely offensive to the Lord,
But an accurate scale is His delight.

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS: Can everyone consider your words accurate and honest, without any hidden agendas on your behalf? God reported through Solomon in this Proverb today, that He is pleased when we report what is right, just and honest, but it truly disturbs Him when we use dishonest means and report part-truths. This may hurt but stay with me as we look into fully understanding this Proverb today.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: I try to always look at the available commentaries to make sure that there is not something in the Scripture that should be shared with you, that I have not fully understood or looked at from every angle. For those who are young, you may not know about the ‘scales’ mentioned in this Scripture today, but instead of digital, these were once manual, where you placed weights on one end, so that when weighing something on the other end, you would know how much it weighs. This description will help you better understand where Solomon was coming from when speaking of honesty in your scales, and also in the following illustration. One of my favorite commentators gave this story to lend understanding to the meaning of this verse: ‘Every day, the farmer delivered a pound of butter to the baker. But the baker began to notice that the pound of butter was becoming smaller and smaller and smaller. “My goodness,” he thought, “I’m being systematically cheated.” So he reported it to the town constable. The baker and the constable went to the farmer’s farm, where the farmer was accused of shortchanging the baker. “But the butter I give him weighs one pound,” the farmer insisted. “What are you using for a weight?” the constable asked. “The baker’s one-pound loaf of bread,” the farmer replied. Thus, the baker was caught in his own trap.’ Unfortunately, this principle can be applied to more than the butcher, farmer or grocer, for having worked in the financial sector all of my working life, I know that many businesses would present a ‘real’ P&L (Profit and Loss) sheet to the bank for a loan application, instead of the one filed with the Internal Revenue Service. I believe that if businesses were as ‘poor’ as the case presented to the Internal Revenue Service, then many would fail. Furthermore, I know that individuals dread the idea of the Internal Revenue Service auditing their personal tax returns as well. I wonder why! If we are truly honest, why do you suppose any of the above might be the case? But doesn’t this sound like manipulating the records for the individual’s, or business’ own profit? God knows the truth of that, and He will be the judge over those decisions. But I believe that manipulation is an abomination to God in all aspects of our lives, including our spiritual affairs. Church attendance and looking prim and proper is not proof that we will enter Heaven’s gates. Being good when around certain people is not considered good enough to enter Heaven’s gates, for it is only through surrendering one’s life to the lordship of Jesus Christ for His will and purpose, that one is truly saved. There was an old proverb that my parents taught during my youth, ‘you can change some of the people some of the time, but never all of the people all of the time’. So why then do we try to sway others towards such impression of us, even if it is a false impression? Let’s try to remember, God knows every little detail about us and our business dealings, so why would we possibly see the need to try and fool others into thinking otherwise? I believe that God is more concerned about our honesty, even when we realize that we have messed up, because He wants us to present ourselves as we are known to God, so that the people will know God and see Him in His children.

BLESSINGS WORTH NOTING: Praise God that He sees us just as we are. I’m sure that He must be disappointed how we try so hard to mask who and what we are to everyone else. Let’s remember, God never created junk, so there’s nothing wrong with us presenting ourselves as God sees us!

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Praise the Lord God Almighty for creating even me in His perfect will. I may not be as tall as some, nor rich as others. I may not see or hear perfectly, but knowing that I was made by the Creator of this whole world, loved by Him so much that He was willing to sacrifice the life of His very own Son, and that He has prepared the most wonderful place ever imagined for my eternal home with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, why on earth would I feel it necessary to try and impress others to see me other than a child of that same King? Lord, please help us to be proud of our heritage and our relation to us. Please keep us honest and never see the need to fool others, or falsely report on things that You are obviously very aware of. Let others see Jesus in us, and not the obvious falsehoods that we try to introduce into our lives to please others. Your way is perfect. Please help us to replicate that perfection so that others will see and desire a relationship with You. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There’s another page on my website, entitled ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to this page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. For my podcast, go online to Apple Podcasts or, using the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word to hear more episodes, or click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home near by your home and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!