Contrast the Upright and the Wicked
11 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight.
2 When pride comes, then comes dishonor,
But with the humble is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.
7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish,
And the hope of strong men perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
But the wicked [a]takes his place.
This first verse really sends an important message, not just to those who run a business, but to all of us. It tells us how important honesty and integrity is to God. He isn’t just looking at the big things, but even cares if our scale is accurate. You may not have scales to worry about, but look at your daily life and make sure no hint of dishonesty is creeping into it.
Throughout this passage, the theme is the same, though sometimes using different words. Even pride is just a form of dishonesty, making ourselves out to be something that we’re not. Humility, integrity, and righteousness (or right-living) should rule our hearts. And that’s the core of the matter, where is our heart in all of this.
It doesn’t matter if we are smarter, richer, prettier, stronger. If our heart isn’t right with God, and we aren’t following His path, then it will not profit us. We will be profitless, caught by our own greed, and our hope will perish along with our false heart. So line it up with God once more today, let Him be your “true north”, your guiding star, and see what our God can do.