Proverbs 11:1

The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.

The old saying “tip the scales” refers to the traditional scale that balances on a fulcrum with a pan on each side suspended by chains. If one side has more weight than the other? The scales “tips” in that direction. It seems simple enough, but what if the scale is rigged so that it no longer impartially weighs one item against another? Welcome to Proverbs 11:1.

Jesus said that He was “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6). He is a “God of truth and without iniquity” (Deut. 32:4). Additionally, the Lord “is a God of justice” and expects every one of us to conform to that standard (Is. 30:18). And while most of us aren’t using scales much anymore – except maybe in chemistry class or at the gym – we can all be guilty of measuring things improperly.

Do you ever exaggerate? Have you padded a number here and there, like claiming more miles on your tax form than you are actually entitled to? How about applying a standard to others that you don’t apply to yourself? Have you ever made a choice to exclude a piece of information that would make you look bad at work…or included information that makes someone else look bad, thereby making you look better? Obviously, we don’t need to carry the physical contraption around to have a problem with the use of “dishonest scales.”

Accuracy is truth, and truth is a clear requirement of holiness, but we want to tip the scales of life in our favor from time to time. Why do we do that? Perhaps it is because we don’t really trust in God’s sovereignty. Or maybe we don’t trust in His goodness. Either way, we put our fear ahead of His love and try to take matters into our own hands. Sadly – and foolishly – we plot and scheme to try and remove the outcome from the only hands that we can actually trust…and in the end, we tip the scales in the wrong direction.