My dear readers,

Honesty is a Christian’s Policy!

Proverbs 11:1: “A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.”

Many say it is almost impossible to be an honest Christian businessman and succeed in the 21^st century, where everything is based on greed and deception. If anyone wants to do business, he has to play in the mud of deception, where honesty is despised and viewed as a weakness to be trampled on. There is no way anyone can succeed without being ruthless, for it is a dog-eat-dog world.

Such philosophies in business have also crept into the thinking of believers who should know better. However, the diabolical forces of the business world are powerful and have impacted the world globally through the internet. Almost every business of any large size and significance is inextricably tied to the vines of global trade and influence, directly or indirectly. The two countries with the loudest voices and wielding the golden wand in business are the United States of America and China. In this harsh business environment where hard work and honesty may mean nothing, these “big boys” from thousands of kilometres away can wave their magic wand, and businesses will collapse.

Fear and trepidation hang over the heads of all businessmen. Due to these fears and the harsh reality of the business world, many have resorted to every means possible and available to succeed. Dollars and cents always measure success. By hook or by crook, the business must grow and remain relevant and successful; otherwise, it will be seen as a failure.

The above scenario captures our minds and hearts in these last days of global links. Will you as children of God succumb to them and behave like orphaned unbelievers employing the ways of the world in business, or will you continue to trust in your covenant-keeping heavenly Father?

Proverbs 11:1 shows us two ways which we could behave. Make a choice.

• The way of abomination – Notice that the LORD did not say that when the false balance is used, it is an abomination to Him. Neither did He infer that the one who possesses a false balance is an abomination to Him. “A false balance” under every circumstance is an abomination to the LORD. The one who makes it and the one who owns it must take heed of God’s fearful warning. A balance is a tool used in business to measure the items for trading, whether for selling or buying. A balance has only one purpose: to make an honest transaction. In God's eyes, once the balance is tampered with for personal gain, it is a sin that begins with the intent. Even before the first tool to tamper with the balance is lifted, God warned His people to beware and know that they have transgressed in His omniscient eyes. They must repent and stop their abominable deed.

The LORD is mentioned instead of God because of the LORD's covenantal relationship with Israel. The citizens of Gentile nations commonly practise this method of transaction where mutual cheating in business becomes the norm. However, God’s people must never resort to such methods, no matter how prevalent and popular such a deceptive philosophy has become. The Gentiles did not know God and did not have the one living and true God as their LORD. Israel is God’s people, and the LORD is their God. They were to fear and trust Him in all they did, including all business ventures for all trades, without exception. Israel’s way of life in everything, including how they did business, would reflect on the LORD whom they worship and represent. If they cheated, they conveyed to the world of sinners that the LORD is a cheat!

That is why the LORD made it clear to Israel that the mere thought of making or possessing a false balance is an abomination to Him. “Abomination” means “something despicable and abhorrent” to the LORD. The best way to elaborate on this is to cite some examples in the Bible of what the LORD described as abominable. Leviticus 18:22-30: “²²Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. ²³Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. ²⁴Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: ²⁵And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. ²⁶Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: ²⁷(For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) ²⁸That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. ²⁹For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.”

Our modern-day application is: not the thought of the making of a balance but the thought that any cheating is an abomination to Christ. A carnal deacon unashamedly shared that when he borrowed money from the bank, he planned to repay only a portion of the principal sum and then declare bankruptcy because the law allowed him to do so. After that period of bankruptcy lapses, the money does not need to be repaid to the bank as this is a standard business practice. Then there are others who might offer “coffee money” which is a euphemistic term for buying favours.

Any form of cheating or under-cutting in business is an abomination to Christ.

• The way of delight – On the other hand, honesty is the best policy to the LORD. The Israelite who has a conviction of owning only a just weight is a delight to Him. He has no intention to deceive, regardless of the external pressures to do deceptive practices from worldly businessmen. He trusts in his LORD to help him. His issue is knowing the will of God in his life. If God has called him to be a Christian businessman, He knows his LORD will help him. He cannot fail but succeed. He knows his business belongs to the LORD. The LORD is the One who keeps all doors open and no one can shut them. If the LORD wishes to shut a door, he trusts the LORD to open another door somewhere that will be best for him. He knows his business is a spiritual venture and not a matter of flesh and blood. To bear a godly and holy witness for Christ is the reason for starting and sustaining his business. The goal is not to be like the world that measures success in dollars and cents. He has succeeded as long as his business testifies to Christ in holiness.

Honesty is an attribute that should characterise the born-again believer in all he does. It is not only the best way but the only way. Honesty defines his very existence in Christ. He cannot be honest at home and in church but not in business. This is a sin of hypocrisy he despises. He ensures all things are done to please God. This is paramount in his life. He knows he cannot do otherwise with the Holy Spirit compelling him and reminding him of the importance of being holy as God is holy.

To accomplish this, he must study the Bible regularly to ensure all aspects of his business life follow the Holy Scriptures. When his business is managed according to God’s Word, he knows it will glorify God.