Walking in Integrity

(Prov 20:10 NLT) False weights and unequal measures-the LORD detests double standards of every kind.

Here Solomon goes back to another reoccurring theme in his teachings: integrity in business. In Solomon's day the two main sources of income were flocks and fields. Most men were either farmers (working the fields) or herdsmen (working with animals); some did both. Scales and measures were used (and are still used today) in the marketplace. So in this type of business the scale/measure is a key tool, determining how much customers pay. It was a common practice for unscrupulous vendors to altar their scales or measuring tapes so that the customer would pay more for an item than they should, giving the vendor an unfair advantage and ill-gotten profit.

In Deuteronomy the Lord told the Israelites to avoid this practice, saying: "Don't try to cheat people by having two sets of weights or measures, one to get more when you are buying, and the other to give less when you are selling" (25:13,14).

In Leviticus the Lord says it again, but adds something at the end: "Don't cheat when measuring length, weight, or quantity. Use honest scales and weights and measures. I am GOD, your God. I brought you out of Egypt" (19:35,36).

What the Lord added at the end was a reminder of who He is and where He brought them OUT of. The Lord's point was that unscrupulous practices may have been accepted in Egypt, by a people who did not acknowledge Jehovah as Lord, but the Israelites were supposed to be different. The Lord had brought them OUT of Egypt, but He knew that some of His people were still doing what they had observed in their old land. In other words, it is one thing to bring someone out of Egypt, but it is something else to get Egypt OUT of them. The Father was saying, "I have moved you physically, but now you must move mentally and spiritually. When I look at you I don't want to see your old ways."

You may not have been delivered from Egypt, but you still had and old life that you need deliverance from. See, when we come to God we do so with a set of ideas, beliefs, values, convictions, and etc.; along with many years of formal and informal education. I would like to say that you we come to God with a clean slate, but that is simply not true. Our slate, by the time we come to Jesus, has been filled with knowledge, experiences, and decisions. When we accept Jesus as Lord we are Born Again. At that moment our spirit is regenerated by God's Spirit and it is a wonderful and everlasting experience. The problem is that we, like God, are tripartite beings. God is Father, Son, and Spirit, we are spirit, soul, and body. Once we are Born Again our spirit is "saved," but not our soul or our body. I like to say that our spirit was saved instantly, our soul must be saved progressively and our body will be saved eventually.

So if our spirit has already been saved and our body will eventually be saved, then what should be our focus today? You got it! The salvation of our soul. Our soul is comprised of our mind (the way we think), emotions (the way we feel), and will (the way we choose). When we come to God our soul is already conditioned to think, feel, and choose a certain way. Most of us came to God with a soul that was not conditioned to think, feel, or choose in ways that are pleasing to Him.

I would like to say it this way new man in an old body needs a new mind!

So what does this mean to you ? It means that cheating in business, fudging 'the numbers' on transactions, or omitting income on your taxes may have been acceptable before, but it cannot be acceptable now. You are a child of the Most High God. Walk upright before God and man and you will have a clear conscious and clean hands.
Father, I know You care about every area and aspect of my life. You brought me out of the world and now You want to get the world out of me. I declare, by faith, that my mind is being and shall continue to be renewed by the Word of God. I put Your Word in me so much that it becomes the overwhelming influence of my life. You are a God of integrity and I am Your child; therefore I am a person of integrity. I walk upright before You all the days of my life. I don't do anything, in business or otherwise, that will devalue, discount, or discredit Your name. I bring honor to You and Your name in all that I do. In Jesus' name. Amen!