Proverbs 11:1-2 (ESV)
1 A false balance is an abomination to the LORD,
but a just weight is his delight.
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with the humble is wisdom.
The Proverbs continue to describe behavior that pleases and displeases Yahweh. A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. In the ancient world, a balance was a measuring device with two plates, one on each side. A fixed weight was placed on one side, and goods were placed on the other so fair trade could be made. Merchants carried standard weights, and their accuracy was assumed. A dishonest trader might use a lighter weight when selling and a heavier one when buying. In that way, he could give less, take more, and enrich himself through deception.
God hates that kind of cheating. To profit by shortchanging others is repulsive to him. Honest dealings, fair prices, truthful business, and integrity in private transactions bring him delight. We may be tempted to cheat by overstating hours worked, hiding flaws when selling something online, “forgetting” after promising to share expenses, manipulating people for personal gain, or presenting ourselves as more generous than we truly are. The method may change, but the heart is the same. God delights in women whose numbers are accurate and whose financial dealings are clean.
This principle reaches beyond the marketplace. God hates false balances of every kind. He hates crooked scales in money matters, but he also hates crooked scales in the heart. Pride is a false measure of self. It is measuring yourself by a lying scale, imagining yourself larger, wiser, more important, or more deserving than you truly are. Pride may reveal itself in our fixation on status, appearance, success, fitness, homes, children, influence, or social circles. But when pride comes, disgrace is already at the door. God knows how to humble the arrogant and expose the emptiness of boasting.
But with the humble is wisdom. Humility is not denying your gifts or speaking negatively about yourself. Romans 12:3 describes it as sober judgment, seeing yourself rightly before God. Jesus never thought poorly of himself, yet no one was more humble. He gave himself to the will of the Father and to the good of others. Philippians 2:3 calls believers to share that same mind by counting others more significant than themselves. Humility grows where self obsession dies.
So be honest in your finances and honest about yourself. Ask God to make you truthful in business, gracious in relationships, and clear minded about your strengths and weaknesses. Ask him to turn your gaze from inward to outward. In conversation, listen well, ask questions, and do not interrupt. In action, look for quiet ways to help. In prayer, bring the needs of others before him as readily as your own. As you listen, serve, and pray, you will learn to entrust yourself to him more, and to forget yourself more for the good of others.