It's Time To Hit The Scales

T

he battle of the bulge—not the one from history but the one around my waist—is still being waged!  Every time I visit the doctor for a checkup, I’m reminded just how difficult it is to win not only the battle, but the war.   The scales are a continual enemy, exposing my weaknesses and my areas of vulnerability.  Every piece of pie, every bowl of ice cream, every candy bar, and every morsel of chocolate, no matter how far in the past, is revealed by the scales.

What’s more, no two scales weigh the same.  Have you ever noticed this?  One set of scales shows my weight to be within “acceptable” (acceptable by me that is) norms.  Another tells me I’m a little lighter than I thought (how rare is this?) and yet another displays a number that is “slightly” larger than I anticipated (I never reuse these scales because they have factory defects!!).  The doctor’s scales fall into this last category.  No matter how good I’ve been, no matter if my scales say that I’ve maintained proper weight, the doctor’s scales always show I weigh more than I think!

Doesn’t anyone make an honest set of scales?  Isn’t there any way I can get a proper, consistent reading?  Of course, the downside to this question is that these scales, if they exist at all, would probably demonstrate that I could stand to drop a few more pounds.  I doubt seriously if they would indicate I weigh too little.  Like the scales in the first paragraph, these “perfect” scales would inevitably point out every grain of sugar I’ve eaten in the past 53 years!

The idea of weights and balances plays a very prominent role in the Scriptures. On more than one occasion, God says plainly and forthrightly that He detests dishonest weights, scales, and balances.  These scales, however, reflect the dishonesty in the hearts and lives of those who use them to further their own interests.  God never weighs our actions; He weighs our intentions, a totally different set of standards!

Job understood and appreciated God’s standards of measure.  During the most difficult trial of his life, Job appeals to God’s just standards and His perfect scales.  In chapter 31, Job answers some of his friends who have come to “comfort” him during this difficult moment.  In their conversations with him, however, they do more accusing than comforting, more questioning than understanding, and they are not very sympathetic.

But Job patiently listens to them and then he responds.  Chapter 31 is a wonderful chapter, filled with the standards that Job uses to weigh his actions and his life.  However, Job 31:6 reveals the true manner in which Job wanted his life to be weighed and it provides good advice and guidance for us today as we also place our lives on God’s scales.  Job 31:6 reads, “Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, and let God know my integrity.”

Job’s statement is both comforting and sobering at the same time.  We find great comfort in the fact that God’s scales are accurate.  They are not skewed, unfair, and they have not been tampered with.  When God weighs something in His balance, the results are always accurate, faire, and just.  This should also humble us and give us a sober understanding of our own lives in relation to God.  Notice that Job wants God—not his friends—to know his integrity.  This is all that matters.  Our lives and our hearts are an open book before God.  He sees and knows everything about us, whether we believe He does or not.  We are all weighed on God’s scales and He knows our integrity, He knows our desires, He knows our thoughts, and He knows our intentions.

So, as Christians and followers of Christ, we must ask ourselves how long it has been since we’ve been accurately weighed.  Are you ready to hit the scales today?