Theft through Dishonesty

A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight.
—Proverbs 11:1

As we continue our study of the Eighth Commandment—no stealing—we see a second way we can be guilty of stealing, and that is through dishonesty. You don’t have to engage in breaking and entering to be guilty of theft. Sometimes we are guilty of theft through dishonesty.

Listen to the words of Proverbs 11:1: “A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight.” In Solomon’s day you would cheat people by doctoring the scale, so to speak, and charging people an appropriate amount of money for something that was purchased.

Today we have more sophisticated ways of engaging in dishonesty. For example, the used-car salesman who says, “Yes, I know this car has eighty thousand miles on it, but they were all put on by a little old lady who used it to drive the car to church back and forth every Sunday. That’s how the miles got put on the car.” Or the appliance repair person who comes to your house and looks at your slightly outdated washing machine and says, “You know, this thing could go at any moment. You better replace it and get a new washing machine.” You think about the promoter who says, “I’ve got an investment deal for you. It’ll return 200 percent in the first year.” Or the doctor or nurse who says, “Let me help you and we’ll backdate the visit date on this report so it can go on last year’s insurance.” You might as well go in and steal from somebody directly.

All of those ways are ways to take what isn’t legitimately yours. We steal when we acquire possessions through dishonesty.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Grand Theft Auto,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.