The ninth commandment

Deuteronomy 25.13-16

“‘You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.’”

We are not to practice double standards. We must treat all people alike. The situation envisioned and proscribed here probably involves a merchant seeking to bilk a richer customer with an unjust scale or standard of some kind. Rather like the federal government does with a graduated tax index.

Fullness and fairness in all transactions: this is what truth requires and what we must practice at all times. To do otherwise is to vaunt ourselves above God, to treat others in a way He does not, and, thus, to become abominable in His sight.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.