Dishonest Scales NIV: Proverb 11:1 The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.

MATTHEW HENRY'S COMMENTS: However men may make light of giving short weight or measure, and however common such crimes may be, they are an abomination to the Lord.

MY OBSERVATIONS: You must surely secretly feel a twinge as you read this proverb. How many of us, as we "guess" at a 1/2 c. serving of mashed potatoes, have it look exactly as a 1/2 c. of measured beets does? Let us be honest with ourselves and truly begin to use accurate measurements. How many of us stand on the scale (again) on weigh-in day, and attempt to adjust or justify the "numbers"? That large pizza and 6-pack mid-week have found its way on our body. Have we ever padded the numbers by taking away one pound, hoping to lose it again by next week's weigh-in? Or have we stood on the scale in different positions 3 times in a row, hoping to use the best weight of the three? Now, we must keep in mind that God hates dishonest scales!

O Lord, in Your Wisdom, You speak to us on all occasions. Help us to be truly honest with ourselves so that we may appear before you with clean hands and conscience, for the sake of Jesus' name. Amen

NIV: Proverb 11: 3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

My Observations: Duplicity means deception by pretending to feel and act one way while acting another. Boy, did that just slap me in the face. I was a duplicator of my caloric needs. Over and over again, I would object when someone noticed the weight I had gained, But, I’m only eating one meal a day. And I was! Then I would get a sympathetic reply, Eat more often, your metabolism is shot. My metabolism was shot, not because I was only eating one meal a day, but because I was eating for 2-3 people in that meal’s sitting. I would then, literally pass out afterward in a deep, almost coma-like sleep for 2 hours. I am a homemaker, and I had the luxury of a siesta afterward. I would never now suggest to anyone that they should eat only one meal a day. We know that the body will go into starvation mode after a long abstinence from food. But, I would suggest, if this is true of your excuse, you actually count the calories you have consumed, and also all those harmless little samples that you shove into your mouth in-between. It may not be a meal, but on the calorie scale, it will be your downfall. Getting honest is the first step in weight loss, and then, getting rid of the duplicity. It is so important as we search for deliverance from our weight gain, which we honestly search out the duplicity in our diets and reckon with them, once and for all.

ord God, thank You for the correction that Your Word always brings to me. If I can’t be honest with myself and others, I know I’m lying through my teeth to You. Amen

Today's Diet Tip: 11.- Just because something can be placed into one's mouth, chewed up, and swallowed does not automatically categorize it as good food.