Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. – Deuteronomy 25:13-14

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 18, 2018): Deuteronomy 25

Friedrich Nietzsche argued, “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” We live in a culture where we seem to expect that people are going to lie to us and, therefore according to Nietzsche, we should no longer believe them.  And maybe this is most prevalent in the world of politics. We expect our politicians to lie. Not just to shade the facts a little, we expect them to tell us things that they know are not true so that we will vote for them. What makes this confusing is that a politician, if they are doing their jobs right, in one position where honor and the ability to be able to believe what they are saying would seem to be very important. Our politicians, the ones who represent us in government, should be people that we can trust.

This passage is in direct contrast to what seem to be our cultural priorities about the truth. In a culture where lying was expected, Moses insists that that is not who they were. Much like today, often a sale was made according to the weight of the product being bought or sold. Unlike today, the weight of something was not included on the packaging. (It might be interesting to know whether that big bag of potato chips that you just bought really weighs 255 grams.) Israel was not to be a people who used different weights, either too heavy for things that you are attempting to purchase, or too light for things that you are trying to sell, in order to get the best deal for you. That might be the practice for other people. But it can’t be the practice for those who fear and desire to follow God. God demands truth in every area of our lives.

Our honor should be our most valued possession. My hope for those that I cross path with is that I will not have done or said anything that would cause you not to believe me. But beyond that, we need to put truth-telling at the top of the things that we value. A leader, or a company, who can create financial value for us through lies and deceit needs to be avoided. Because even if we are truthful, but we align ourselves with people who are not, then their failings will color our character. And no matter how much money they might make for us, the price of doing business with people who are less than truthful is too high.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 26