Proverbs 11:1: "Unjust Standards"

Standards Are Necessary for Commerce, Communication, and Daily Life

Okay, in 1983, Air Canada Flight 143 left Montreal bound for Edmonton, Canada. The aircraft was a new Boeing 767. They had just come off the assembly line and this was one of the first that was put into service.

It was a problem. Measurements in the new aircraft had been switched to the metric system and that was the first time that they used the metric system in calculating fuel consumption. And you may not know this, but for safety reasons, airlines don't top off their tanks.

They don't fill the tank like we do our car gas tanks. They calculate how much fuel they need and then figure in for contingency and they only put enough fuel in for each individual flight. In case of a mishap, it's less chance of an explosion.

With that in mind, neither the ground crew nor the flight crew were used to working with the metric system. So they calculated that they needed one, I'm sorry, 10 ,000 pounds of fuel for this particular flight from Montreal to Edmonton.

Midway in the flight, the plane ran out of fuel, flying at 41 ,000 feet. It turns out the plane needed 10 ,000 kilograms of fuel. And for those of you who know, a pound is 2 .2 kilograms. So twice as much as the crew had calculated was needed, so that's why they ran out of fuel.

Now the pilot was able to land the plane safely, all right? Nobody died in the crash landing, all right? And these events were inspired a movie called Free Fall. They changed the name of the flight to Flight 174, but it's an interesting movie and it's still available on Prime and whatnot if you ever want to see how they actually do a pretty good job of showing the flight crew and the ground crew trying to calculate how many pounds they need because they had to convert from gallons to pounds to kilograms.

It was a mess. And the entire series of events was caused by the confusion over the standard of measurement for the fuel. That's by way of introduction. We're working our way through systematically through the book of Proverbs.

And we're pausing on each theme as Proverbs, as we come to it in Proverbs, and then explore other verses that have something to say about it. This morning we're addressing the topic of unjust standards.

Proverbs 11:1 and the Need for Just Weights

Opening text is Proverbs 11 .1, which says this, A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. So opening point one, standards are necessary. As the ground crew found out in flight 143, how important it is that there is a standard.

Commerce is impossible without standards. Just think of weights. What if there was no standard of weight? What if a pound was not a pound every place that you go? That would present problems. Distances, how would you measure distances?

Money, we need it. That's not a good example in our society because we don't have a standard. The standard is the faith of the government. That makes you sleep well at night, doesn't it? Communication is impossible without standards.

If you don't have a standard language, the Olympics are coming up again this summer. And I don't know if you've ever noticed, but all the announcements at the Olympics are made in three languages. They're made in English, they're made in French, and then the language of the country that is hosting the event.

For this very same reason is that they need the information to get out that everybody can understand it. The language, even an alphabet. One of the problems when you go from one country to another is not even the alphabet is the same.

When we were traveling through Ukraine, the word for restaurant looks like, if you don't know the Cyrillic alphabet, it looks like pektopah. You say, what the heck is that? Oh, that's a restaurant. And all based upon the alphabet.

Daily life would be chaos without standards. Time, even baking a cake. How would you know how to bake a cake if you didn't have a unit of time? And the very fact that God addresses the subject of standards in his holy word is an indication of their importance.

Look again at our opening text. A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. So the question then is, what is a false balance? A false balance is one that reads incorrectly.

And that can happen either by negligence or intention. Either way, if you have a false balance, it's an abomination to the Lord. Remember, negligence harms someone. Negligence that harms someone is not excusable.

Proverbs 20, verse 10. Differing weights and differing measures, both of them are abominable to the Lord. A false balance includes any deceptive practices. Proverbs 20, 23. Differing weights and abomination to the Lord and a false scale is not good.

Remember, Proverbs is a very practical book. And here we see just the Bible has something to say about how you deal with business in the marketplace. A lot of people say, oh, the Bible, that's for spiritual use only.

Well, primarily, of course, it's for spiritual use, but it also addresses daily business and home practices. False balance includes the small print on a contract. I mean, how many jokes are there about, you know, well, you didn't read the small print.

Turning the odometer back on used cars. I don't think you can do that anymore. But that used to be, for those of us who go back a little ways, unhooking the speedometer cable and putting a reversible drill on it and running it backwards.

I think I knew him. I might have put handcuffs on him at one point or another. But that was a big thing. There were guys who specialized in, you want to sell your car? Just run it up to speedometer Joe.

Pumping less gas than the dial reports. It was a big scandal here on Long Island a number of years ago before they started to put a seal on it where they would actually recalibrate the pump so that it was registering more gallons than you really were putting in.

That's exactly what Proverbs is addressing. A false balance includes any deceptive practices. It doesn't have to just be false. Any deceptive. Deceptive packaging. What do they do now? Instead of raising the prices, they cut the size of the package.

Deceptive wording. This is a genuine imitation. You'll see wording like that on packaging. The proverbial two sets of books. How often do you find somebody who is being indicted for using false books?

Even the general rule in the workplace is caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware. In other words, it's up to you, pal. If there's something wrong, I'm not going to tell you. How about the old bait and switch ploy?

We've seen that how many times used. There's many other ways to employ false scales. God is not just concerned with deceptive practices. He is concerned. Obviously, it's right here in his word. He's concerned with deceptive hearts.

He calls these practices abominations. I want to take a little bit of time on this because I think it's important that we see exactly. How does God view somebody who is deceptive in the marketplace? God says that instead of being caveat emptor, he says let the seller beware.

The seller should reveal. These warnings of scripture are so strong that Greg Bonson wrote this. Remember who Greg Bonson is. Your attitude in these matters is one of the leading indicators of your attitude toward justice in general.

In other words, if you're deceptive in the marketplace, that's your attitude to justice in general. I think it was Clarence Zadaro, the great lawyer of the early 20th century. Somebody mentioned to him, he said, when you try to get justice for your clients, he says, my clients don't want justice.

They want freedom. And he would do whatever was necessary to get them off. Unjust standards are abomination. We've seen three or four verses already, but let's look. So what is an abomination? An abomination means to utterly detest, to loathe, or to hate.

What God is saying in his word is he hates unjust standards and deceptive business practices. And it's the word that God uses to describe his attitude toward idolatry. So imagine now, what is an idolatry?

Idolatry is setting something up else in place of God. And, of course, God hates that. It's the same word that's used to describe idolatry is used to describe deceptive business practices. Look at some of the other times this word is used.

Proverbs 3 .32, for the crooked man is an abomination to the Lord, but he is intimate with the upright. Notice, the crooked man. Deceptive practices are equated with deception and being crooked. Proverbs 6, there are six things which the Lord hates, yet seven which are an abomination to him.

And look at what it says. Haughty eyes, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among his brothers.

I'm putting some of these verses up, not that they have something specific to say about deceptive practices, but just to show the company that God places deceptive business practices in. Proverbs 15 .8, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord, but pleasant words are pure. See how many times this word is used? Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Assuredly, he will not go unpunished.

And then the last one, last two. Proverbs 16 .5, everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. He will not go unpunished. He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them are alike an abomination to the Lord.

There's the company. There's a whole series of things that God considers an abomination that God hates. A lot of people don't understand. There are things that God hates. Yes, God is love, but the things that go against his love are the things that he hates.

And certainly being deceptive in the business marketplace or even in your home business is something that he hates. Why does God detest unjust standards with such vehemence? I mean, he's using the word that is extremely strong.

Why would he just say it's not good? First one is because it's an affront to his attribute of justice. It's an absolute offense. Remember, God is pure righteousness, pure holiness, pure justice, and deceptive practices are an offense to his attitude of justice.

Proverbs 1611, adjust balance and scales belong to the Lord. All the weights of hit the bag are his concern. He is concerned. And again, this first, probably more than any others, answers the question or the criticism.

Well, God should take care of things that, you know, we need him to take care of things in the business, not in the business sense, in the spiritual sense. But the business belongs to us. And no, God is concerned and regulates in his word how we should run our businesses, how we should run our homes.

It shows that God is concerned with every aspect of life. There is no area of life that God does not have something to say and set down principles that we need to go by. He sets the standard. God addresses this concept in his law.

Just to show you, you know, the Bible basically can be divided into three different types of literature. The law, the prophets, and the wisdom literature. He addresses this concept in his law. In the Old Testament law, Leviticus 19, says you shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight or capacity.

You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah and a just hyn. Ephah and hyn were just units of measurement in the Old Covenant. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

You shall thus observe all my statutes, all my ordinances, and do them. I am the Lord. So God is saying, no, I have control over these. Yeah, go ahead, Remy.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, and Jerry was absolutely right on target as well. Yeah, that's true. And especially if you profess faith in Christ, where you're representing him most directly. So God addressed the concept in his law.

This is the concept of loving your neighbor, the second great commandment. God's law is a reflection of his character. Therefore, God's law demands just weights and measures. So we see we have the abuse of power.

It's an abuse of the second commandment of loving your neighbor, as well as an affront to God's justice, characteristic of justice and righteousness. God addresses the same concept in the prophetic books.

Micah 6, verses 10 to 11. Is there yet a man in the wicked house, along with treasures of wickedness and the short measure that is cursed? Can I justify wicked scales and a bag of deceptive weights? There's God speaking in rhetorical terms again.

And Micah is addressing the greedy merchants of Israel who are taking advantage of their brothers. And I love the rhetorical question format that the scripture uses all the time. Is there yet a man in the wicked house?

I think it just adds emphasis. The law, the prophets, and the wisdom literature all denounce cheating, which is really what it is. Deceptive business practices is cheating. And this type of behavior is as common today as it was back in biblical times.

It takes some different forms. Padding the old expense account. Inflating insurance claims. God is concerned with both business practices and the way we run our personal finances and our personal business.

Just think how many times, how many times just in the short period of this short lesson that we see the warning and the caution about these practices. It's rife throughout all of scripture, like I say, in every aspect of it.

You cannot practice these things and think there will be no consequences. Deuteronomy 25, verse 13 to 16. You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. That's the idea of when you had scales and you put a weight on one side to see how much is left on the other side.

That's what he's referring to. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a full and just weight. You shall have a full and just measure. Now, I underline this because look at what it's saying, that your days may be prolonged.

In other words, there are consequences for violating God's law. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God. There is a standard. In commerce as well as everyday life, there needs to be a common standard.

That's very obvious. In Israel, the standard was set by the king. Speaking of Absalom, we read this. Everybody knows the story of Absalom. That was one of David's sons. He had the long, flowing hair. He was known for his beautiful hair, who was also very deceptive.

I don't put it up to talk about Absalom in general, but just as a matter of passing, we find something very interesting. When he cut his hair of his head, and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, for it was heavy on him, so he cut it, he weighed the hair of his head at 200 shekels by the king's weight.

Notice, even Israel had a common standard. In 1875, an international pair of weights and measures was formed in the United States. They set and keep the true standards of measures for the USA. Without these standards, there would be chaos in the marketplace.

But there's another application. There is an absolute standard of righteousness in God's law. Remember these words. Mene, mene, tickle you, farsen. Everybody remember where we've heard those before? From the Book of Daniel.

The handwriting on the wall of the king, Belshazzar. That was God's message to him, and what it means is, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Belshazzar was judged by God, and he lost his life that very night to the Medes and the Persians.

God's scales are perfect, and that's something we all need to understand. You think you can get away with something on this earth, but every one of us will stand before God at the end of the age. Double standards are also an abomination.

Many people use scales of their own to judge themselves. What is the most common thing when you ask somebody if they're going to heaven or not? Sure. And how do they judge good? Yeah. Well, I'm better than most, or I've done more good than I've done bad.

But we will stand. It's not our standard of judgment that's going to condemn us. Remember Air Canada Flight 143. By their calculations, they had enough fuel, but they used the wrong standard. Everyone will be judged by God's perfect scales.

God's Law, the Prophets, and the Wisdom Literature Condemn Cheating

So what's the lesson from two of us this morning, if I could just make it concise and boil it down? First, conduct your daily affairs honestly with integrity. That's clearly one of the messages. Micah 6a, he has told you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

Second, understand that no one, in and of themselves, can stand up to God's standard of righteousness. So repent of your sin, call upon his name, and turn to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. That's the answer for the second one.

Any questions? Comments? Well, when I was a young man... What? What did I say? Yep, you too can be a sermon illustration. When I was a younger man, I worked in an electronics research development company, and I was the instrumentation tech.

And I had a cabinet that had a standard for setting voltmeters, ammeters, you know, every type of meter that the engineering staff needed to do their work. So when they would get ready to do a project, they would send all their test equipment to me, and I would calibrate it to the standard.

So where did I get the standard from? Well, there was a company down in Bohemia, it's still there, I think they still do it, called Dayton T. Brown. And they have standards that they get, that they measure directly with the Bureau of Standards.

They have access to that. So it's so important, because imagine if an engineer on one side of the building has his meter reads one volt exactly, and the other one is reading one volt exactly, but it's actually 1 .2 volts.

That can make a huge difference whether or not the piece of equipment is going to work or not. So it just shows the importance of standards. But again, when God is concerned with our daily lives and business practices, but the ultimate standard, what he's talking about, is this is a picture of our spiritual life.

And that's why it's important that we understand that we will be judged at the end of our lives by God's standard, not by our particular standard. Because we always have a double standard. John says it all the time, he says, My sin is terrible when you do it.

It's not so bad when I do it. Final thoughts?