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Dishonest Scales


The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him. (Proverbs 11:1)

                This morning, on a website that is not supposed to be political, someone shared a video in which a political candidate belittled a young woman who asked a question he didn’t want to answer. If you asked people why the posted or shared it, they’d tell you it was to “inform” people. The thing is, the Pharisees who posted the video clip didn’t simply share the video. They editorialized it by belittling the politician.
                I agree that the girl should not have been belittled, but I’m tired of hearing the new Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not shame or belittle anyone or otherwise make them feel less than wonderful about themselves,” from people who then shame, belittle, and make others feel less than wonderful about themselves.  
                This may not be exactly the sort of scales that Solomon meant, but if the Lord detests dishonest scales, then He detests dishonest scales. Unfortunately, we all love dishonest scales. We’re “justified” in doing what others are not. We’re right, they’re wrong, so it’s fine to shame them. They deserve it.
                There’s a second odd dishonest scale that I find myself using. If you drop a glass of iced tea on the floor, as I did the other day, I think, “Oh, she dropped her ice tea.” If I spill a glass of iced tea, I’m a clumsy oaf. If you lose your temper about something, you lose your temper. If I lose my temper, I’m an ill-tempered lout, a horrible daughter, a monster…. Yeah, I hate one-way roads and dishonest scales, too.

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