How Much Do You Weigh?

“You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.” Daniel 5:27 

Belshazzar rode atop the opulent kingdom of Babylon.  His pomp and arrogance surpassed even that of his father.  After a night of reveling, God crashed the party with handwriting on the wall, “MENE, MENE, TEKEL UPARSIN.”  Daniel interpreted the message to mean “tried in the balances and found wanting.”  Body weight, fat grams or need for liposuction are not in view here.  Imagine a huge set of scales that held the entire Babylonian empire on one side, and the favor of the Almighty God on the other.  The scale dipped sharply to the Almighty.  Nothing in Babylon outweighed God’s power and might.  Babylon fell that same night and in its collapse, Belshazzar lost his power, his kingdom and his life.  

In ancient days, balances accounted for money.  Merchants weighed all the gold or silver used as currency to conduct business.  Since there was no uniformity among coins of the realm, it was necessary to weigh them to ensure that the right amount was transacted. So, what did God weigh in the balance?  Not the great walls, the wide streets, the magnificent Ishtar Gate or the Hanging Gardens which were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  He didn’t weigh the king’s treasure house, the standing armies or the wealth of the famed merchants that lined the broad boulevards. God weighed none of these structures that impressed the world and established Babylon as the greatest city and empire of the day.  God weighed something far more valuable. “Found wanting” simply meant that the amount paid for a commodity was not enough.  You short-changed the merchant or the person with whom you were doing business. 

When this visual is projected into the twenty-first century culture—and to us, personally—it becomes something of a great concern.  It tells the story of the true value of your life.  Just as Belshazzar, many people look at the wrong things as their valuables.  I could go down the litany of the things we treasure—house, car, clothes, bank accounts, good looks, etc.—but these things do not tip the scale.  In fact, when we pay attention to these things in trying to better our lives, we actually do the opposite.  The more you accumulate, the less value you have.  The more you are worth in this life, chances are the more worthless you are in the life to come. 

Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21. Whether you know it or not, you are on God’s scales.  He is not looking for the pound or two that you gained this morning when you stepped on the scales.  He is not counting calories or fat grams.  God weighs attitude, humility, gratitude, obedience to His will, and faith in his being.  

So, let’s take inventory. How much is your car worth in heaven’s currency?  What’s most valuable to you?  House? Clothes? Gadgets? Good looks? Good health? Good mind? But, in God’s accounting system, He is not impressed. The things that you may be spending all your money, time and energy on will be utterly and totally lost in the end. Maybe it’s time to start looking at life through the eyes of God.

The Bible warns us against placing a high value on earthly things. (Revelation 3:14-18).  God says you need Truth!  The word, TRUTH sums it all up! Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” There is freedom in truth—freedom from society’s expectations, from the flesh, from the rat race of life. You are responsible for the truth you know.  When you exchange ignorance for knowledge, your life is forever changed.