Deceit will meet its end!
We are living in a day and age when there seems to be so much deception and fraudulent activity going on within the marketplace of America. Is this something which has been going on all along, and it just appears to be so much more apparent today. The reason I make this type of statement has to with the fact that recently I have heard so many people complain about the high cost of products in relationship to what things use to cost before the pandemic hit. Are prices in line with the situation of our economy or are their companies and people taking advantage of the epidemic crisis we were subjected to for the last two years? As Winston Churchill once said after WWII, “Never let a crisis go to waste”. I believe when he made the comment it was in a more positive context, then what might be the case we are presently dealing with in the U.S.
There is also a trend taking place, in our country, whereby the service after the sale of many products is at a very low level. The cost of buying such things as cars, appliances, and any number of other consumer items has greatly increased, yet the willingness of many companies to provide acceptable customer assistance, support, and service, after the purchase, has dropped off drastically. Taking a person’s money is one thing, caring for the customer and looking out for their best interest, has taken on a whole new meaning in many respects! To be able to do business with companies/people, who operate under fair, forthright, and morally sound standards, is a real blessing as far as I and many others are concerned.
In the Book of Amos such deceitful, unacceptable, unethical actions are addressed by God. “Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, "When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?" Amos 8:4-7
Using unfair weights and monetary measures to gain an upper hand on those you are dealing with is something which is not received very well by the Lord. Taking advantage of others, especially the poor for personal gain, is highly condemned by our righteous and just God. The words of God through His prophet Amos said thus, “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.” Their deeds are meant to be the false and misleading activities of dishonest merchants.
Jesus himself had something to say about how we are to treat one another in all our dealings with other people, when He said in Luke 6:31, “And as you wish others would do to you, do so to them.”
As Christians, we must be above reproach in our businesses and their operations. We are giving a witness for Christ, and if we are not acting in a God-pleasing manner, then how can we expect the rest of society to do any different. With the help of the Holy Spirit and the example given to us by Jesus Himself, may you and I live a life which promotes honesty, moral integrity, and a Christ-like character, as we faithfully serve our Lord and those we interact with in our jobs and businesses! Pastor McCarty