A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
but a just weight is His delight.
Message: Black and White in a Grey World
Time: Proverbs records multiple individuals as its author with Solomon as the principal author. Solomon died in 931 BC though most think the book was likely in its final form sometime before the end of Hezekiah’s reign in 686 BC. It is a book that instructs people on the path of wisdom. It speaks to all of life and living our lives under the authority and direction of God.
What the Lord is Saying: God, it has been interesting reading these words of Solomon, starting in chapter 10 and the contrast between the righteous and the wicked. Lord, I believe I see the righteous as being those that are living their lives according to Your design. I see it as those individuals you have directly called as your chosen ones. The wicked are not your called ones. And so in life there is these two different types of people. And your word clearly shows that distinction while I think in our world there is a subtle move to try and take the ways of the wicked and make them to be not so wicked but more or less good. Is the world getting more gray? Yet Lord, there remains a clear distinction.
God, maybe these Proverbs are there to help me see that distinction and remind me that it is there. Help me to read these proverbs so I can see the person I am to be. Help me to understand what the writer meant by these words and therefore what you what me to take away from them.
This verse now uses weights and measures to make a contrast between what is good and not good or bad or unwelcome or against you. The text uses the word abomination which is a strong word Lord to show extreme dislike, hateful or morally offensive. This abomination to the Lord that is described is a false balance in this text. Other translations state dishonest scales with the Amplified even bringing in dishonest business practices. Lord, wouldn't this be obvious that you abhor what is dishonest or false? That principle seems easy, but maybe it is hard at times to call out what exactly is dishonest or false.
Right now, the first thought that comes up for me is work and our purchasing practices. In our quest to get goods and services, there is a thirst or desire to get what we need as fast as possible without having to jump through too many hoops. And I notice often it is hard to understand what the rules are and what we are permitted to do. And so we often will try to state things in the best possible way for our purposes in order to see if they get accepted. We only change when we are told to change. In essence, because the standard is unclear, we try to see what we can do. Thus, what is false is blurry. How we define what is false is blurry. I wonder if this is how we approach life at times. Rather than staring at the black and white, I look at the gray.
Lord, you take me back to that album by Leslie Phillips -- Black and White in Grey World. As you know, I did not at the time get into her music as the rocker female lead singer was not my thing I gravitated towards and actually sort of disdained. Leslie, later known as Sam, is now seen as a person deconstructing their faith, which is now a popular term for describing people that are taking the traditional faith and revising it or changing it or even abandoning it. But I mention it here Lord because of the title track. Those lyrics voice the idea of standing out (i.e. black/white) in a world that blends.
This world I live in Lord not only acknowledges the blending of black/white, but accepts it, then approves it and then celebrates it. It has turned grey into a stand alone conclusion. Now, black and white is no longer the standard but the exception and often described as radical. That song starts out with these words - "No distinction, no emotion for right or wrong / They tell me any choice will do / No color contrast in their dull morality / The shades of good and bad are through."
Jesus, you have words that are now recorded in Revelation 3:15-16 to speak about this grey person - "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot...so because you are lukewarm....I will spit you out of My mouth." Ouch. Lord, those are strong words. While we venture towards lukewarm or grey, you state spitting that out.
Lord, as I study these scriptures, I see the reminder of the opposites while I live in a world of the gray or blending. Simply identifying the black and white now is hard for I am daily being trained in only the color of grey. Help me God to stand out even if my standing out is not what people want. I want to be of your delight and so i want to be a just weight or let your truth in me be defined by You and Your definition. I will stumble Lord. I will forsake You as I have done. Forgive me for this now and in the future. Let it be glaring in my life the direction I need to go and be. As I go to church today, I thank you for that place, a place of refuge that retrains me or reminds me of your standards. I go there to get trained. And then help me to return to the arena of gray and continue to stand out. As I come across these grey moments, help me to know what is the way of standing out. Sometimes I can't see it Lord or I am blinded to it. Sometimes I don't know what is your standard. I pray for your grace to be extended to me so I can see what is the just weight. Lord, help me also to separate the sin from the sinner. I want to hate the sin, but I want to love the sinner. This is hard at times Lord. Again, I pray for your grace. Thank you Lord for calling me and taking me to this standard of living - of being. In Christ alone I pray. Amen.
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