Day 68
Numbers 11:24‐13:33; Mark 14:22‐52; Psalm 52:1‐9; Proverbs 11:1‐3
Integrity or Treachery
One of the aspects of the Bible that make it so believable is how thoroughly human the men and women are. There is a thread of humanity that runs through each of this days readings. A great man such as Peter is unable to back up his boast to never deny Jesus. The carefully selected group of men chosen by Moses to spy on the Promised Land conspire to convince Moses that it is a bad place that “devours its inhabitants” because they felt it was too well-defended and risky. The Psalm tells of men who are deceitful and workers of evil who trust in their own abundance rather than trusting in the Lord.
But none is any clearer than the three verses of Proverbs selected for today regarding our choices–false balance or just weight; pride or humility; integrity or treachery. When buying by weight, one can adjust the scale to appear to weigh less; when selling by weight, one can adjust the scale to appear to weigh more. There are many more ways to deceive people in our dealings with them than an improperly set scale. A false balance and all that may symbolize is an abomination to the Lord, and a just scale and all that symbolizes is a delight to our Creator. We need to make integrity a keynote to our success in life, setting pride and treachery aside.
Joe Pollock