Honest Economic Dealings

By Dr. Derek Carlsen

It is possible to have read the Bible and not realized how much emphasis it places upon honest economic dealings. Economics is not a sideshow; it is front and center in God’s revelation and it’s also inseparable from true spirituality. Ignorance of this topic is nothing short of negligence, which is the fruit of a pseudo-spirituality, i.e., an other-worldly perception of God’s reality. Our responsibilities before Him in such areas are some of the dusty aspects of our service.

Scales, Weights, and Measures

Honest scales, weights, and measures are God’s sovereign ordering (Leviticus 19:35-36), and to reject these is to choose a path of destruction. Moses reminded Israel as they were about to enter the Promised Land that if the nation used just weights and measures then they would live long in the land (Deuteronomy 25:13-15).

Abomination

God delights in just weights, but calls perverse weights and measures, abominations (Proverbs 11:1; 16:11; 20:10,23). The prophets often said that such corruption brought on God’s judgment (Ezekiel 45:9-12; Hosea 12:7-8; Amos 8:5; Micah 6:10-11). What’s clear from these references is that deceptive scales, etc., are the tools of oppression. 

Dross

Deceptive weights and measures defraud some people while enriching others. When a merchant measures out the grain, for example, he uses a smaller measuring cup, and then when he weighs the silver paying for the grain he uses a heavier weight opposite the silver, thus the customer pays more silver for less grain. Other ways to cheat in trade, are to mix cheaper metals into the silver (dross) or to mix water into the wine, which are things that Isaiah the prophet exposed (Isaiah 1:22). 

Community Policing

It would appear from Leviticus 19:35-36 that the whole community was to make sure that just weights and measures were being used by everyone, which would only work if there was transparency and accountability. For example, if a merchant claimed to be using a certain sized measuring cup for grain, the customer should be able to pull out his own measuring cup and ask the merchant to pour the first cup into the customer’s cup. Likewise, when the silver was being weighed the customer should be able to test his weight with the merchant’s weight.

Modern Application

Fair trading and honest money require transparency, thus, if transparency is lacking, then the most reasonable assumption that we can make is that things are not honest. The emphasis that God places upon honest money and trading means that His children are meant to strive for honesty in these areas. To ignore the lack of transparency in some areas and say, “Well, that’s just how it is,” is to fail to glorify our Lord in the way we ought. So many aspects of money and trade not only lack transparency but when challenged about this, deny the relevance or need for transparency. An authority structure does not equal transparency. It is only transparency that gives people the confidence to trust in an authority structure.

“To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20).