"Scale of Wisdom"

"Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way." (Psalms 119:128)

  If there is any other way to explain how important it is to understand how God's judgment is concerning you and me, this verse might help us to see difference between who we are and what we should be. To paint this picture in the way I have been shown to see it, we could just examine David's heart at the time he took on Goliath. As a shepherd boy, David learned several things about being ready to defend that which he was entrusted to watch over; he shared these experiences with King Saul, as he made his case about being able to take on the giant Philistine. More importantly, was David's heart when he first heard the Philistine giant spouting out blasphemy against his God. This was no little thing to be ignored; this was David's heart taking notice of something that not only should not be allowed, but it was something that surely should not be feared. A couple points to that condition which needs to be expanded on: the first, that David felt offended by what was being said; having a relationship with God, he felt the need to stand up for the honor and respect that God deserves to be given. Secondly, by having some experience in God's amazing protection, he was embolden to not only speak out against what was being said, but to be encouraged to take on the challenge being put forth by someone that had absolutely no power against his God! Night and day, that is the difference in attitude displayed in David's heart in comparison to those who cowered back from the threats from enemy of God's people. 1 Samuel 17:26 describes David's answer in the matter of taking on the Philistine giant, saying, "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" For David, it was totally unquestionable to consider what was the right or wrong thing to do. The right thing was to take God's side in the matter, and the wrong was to do nothing! The false way, if you will, was to even consider this giant as someone that God could not overcome; it was something that never entered David's heart. When Saul tried to dress David in his armor, David realized that he needed to be unprotected, because his real protection was the LORD! Talk about making a point, his determination was to come as he was, because the stuff Saul tried to put upon him had not been tested; in other words, it was not him and God didn't need him to use it for winning the battle. His faith was in God, and in God alone, as he said, "And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands." (1Samuel 17:47) The big difference being painted here is the difference between God's side and the side that is not! We really don't need to use a Ben Franklin Scale to figure out which is which; if it glorifies God, then we know it is right...

"At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law's commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and just. But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commands for its own evil purposes." (Romans 7:9-13) NLT