GOD CARES ABOUT HOW YOU DO BUSINESS
God told Moses to teach the people of Israel to establish and maintain a standard of weights and measures, so that their nation would endure. God said that those who used dishonest weights and measures were behaving unrighteously and were an abomination to Him.
Having fair weights and measures establishes trust, so that a nation’s economy prospers. It reduces the possibility of enmity between buyers and sellers. And perhaps most importantly, it protects the poor, who are most often the victims of dishonest schemes.
The U.S. has a governmental office called “The Office of Weights and Measures” that promotes uniformity in weights and measures laws, regulations, and standards to achieve equity between buyers and sellers in the marketplace. This office works to make sure that we get the gallon of gas or milk, or the pound of sugar or bacon, that we paid for.
Perhaps Jesus had this law in view when on the Monday of Passion Week, he “overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves” (Mark 11:15). For the moneychangers were notorious for charging an exorbitant fee for exchanging foreign monies for the Temple shekel. And those selling doves were especially despicable, for they were profiting off of the poor. For the Torah taught that anyone who could not afford a lamb was to bring two doves as a burnt offering for sin (cf. Lev. 5:7). This is why Jesus said, “You have turned my house, which was meant for prayer, into a den of thieves” (cf. Mark 11:17).
God cares about fairness in the marketplace. God cares about how you do business.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are thankful that You led our nation’s forefathers to establish fairness in the marketplace. We are thankful for America today, yet we ask You to watch over our economy and especially our small business owners. Some may think that You are against business, but Your Word shows that in fact, You are quite interested and care that we run our businesses fairly and honestly. We also pray for the poor in our nation today, that You would watch over them and empower us to be care for them in Your name. In Jesus’ name, amen.