A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight.
— Proverbs 11:1
A balance is the weight put on a scale to offset the weight of what you are weighing. The wise man leaves an unbelievable nugget of wisdom oft not mentioned at all: false balance, false requirement, false measure to be measured by. If mentioned, there is some reason of justification for the act of wrongdoing. Religion has been doing this very act since before Jesus walked the Earth. The justification for it? “HOLINESS.” Yes, holiness, manmade holiness, rules, regulations, and sacrificial living not required by Scripture.
Isaiah discusses the false balance that men have come up with in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Manmade holiness/balance is nothing more than filthy rags, an abomination in the sight of God, constantly requiring more than God did for a man to make his eternal abode with Jesus.
1 Samuel 15:22 records what God takes pleasure in: “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
What gets God’s attention? Obedience, agreement, submission, respect, and compliance. Your willingness to hear and obey, rather than be beaten, driven, whipped, and commanded to do more than God asks in Scripture.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Our prayer for you this week: May you come to realize what pleases God is a response of obedience, not fear of man and their false requirements.
