Devotion 

Balance

Frances Taylor 

This is my favorite Proverb. It talks about two things that are so important to following God's will. Honesty is so necessary in life. The person who lies has two things going against him. The first is kind of obvious. Once you know a person lies or is dishonest in business, how can you trust him or her? Even when the person is telling the truth, you don't believe it. You wonder if you're being cheated in business dealings. But there's another problem for the person himself. The dishonest person can't trust anyone else either because he or she figures everyone else lies or has an agenda that is out to get him or her. The second half of the proverb concerns balance. How much does any person need? I'm not asking how much a person might want, but need. It's hard for the rich to realize their dependence on God. This is why Jesus said it was easier for a camel to walk through the eye of the needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. And the very poor can be tempted to steal in order to take care of their families, and thereby break the commandments and offend the God they love. When we think of the early Christian church, they seemed to understand this and they made sure that their goods were distributed so that all had enough, and no one had an excess.

Prayer 

Lord, please let honesty and a generous spirit be the guiding rules for my life, so that I will always realize how much you have given me and that I will not dishonor my calling as a Christian. Amen.