Leviticus 19 NLT
Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord. (35-37)
The real you is who you are when only God is watching. God expects us to be people of integrity in even the smallest ways. Most of us think that if we are “good” people who aren’t breaking any major commandments or making any enemies, then that is enough. Yet, God expects so much more of us. Under the Old Testament Law, there were laws that covered some seemingly “minuscule” things. For instance, your scales and weights had to be accurate and your measuring containers had to be accurate too. Why? Because God expected His people to be honest in even the smallest of things. He expected them to pay the right amount for what they bought and for sellers to never take advantage of buyers.
While we are under a new covenant and no longer bound to Levitical law in the same way, God still has standards and He still has expectations. He still expects us to be honest in everything we do and everything we say. He does not want us to “stretch the truth” or “skim off the top” or any of the other colloquialisms we use for lying and stealing. As God’s people who live under grace, we are actually to go above and beyond the letter of the law by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must go to even greater lengths to ensure that we are honest, even if it ends up costing us in the end. Many people today value “cleverness” that allows them to get something for nothing or to gain some kind of advantage over another. That is not the spirit of Leviticus and it is definitely not the message of Jesus who calls us to put others before ourselves.
