Acts 4
Proverbs 11
The Lord detests dishonest scales,
but accurate weights find favour with him.Proverbs 11:1
In New Testament times, the scale was used for most sales of goods. It would be relatively easy to slightly adjust the weights to your benefit and most purchasers would not have known. The seller would have been the only one to know and benefit from it.
One of the problems of money and riches is that people chase after them by any means possible. This verse clearly instructs us that cheating others to gain riches is not acceptable in God’s eyes. In an age that measures success by how much money you have, this is a great reminder to us that as Christians we are never to indulge in practices that cheat others out of their money.
But it isn’t just what we shouldn’t do that matters. This chapter gives us insights of what we should do. Verse 3 reminds us that we should be people of integrity, which the dictionary defines as “the quality of being honest”. In our dealings with others we therefore should always act honestly. That means we don’t try conceal the flaws in the house or car we are selling, we don’t make the terms and conditions in really fine print hoping that customer won’t read it, we don’t leave out information that we should really be disclosing. We act honestly in all our dealings.
It’s important for Christians to have a right view of money in relation to eternity. Verse 4 says, “Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath”. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”. That is where our focus as Christians ought to be – seeking to be righteous – and not seeking after riches. Proverbs 11 goes on to mention ‘righteousness’ numerous times. Verse 10 and 11 in particular show us that cities benefit from having righteous people living in them. Here is a massive challenge to us at TCC – what impact are we having on the city? Would people notice if TCC suddenly ceased to exist? Would the city be impacted?
It isn’t only about what we shouldn’t be doing; it is also about the positive impact we should be having on the city in which we live. We should be having a positive effect on the people we come into contact with. Let’s make our lives impact the city in which we live.