Proverbs 16:11 – A just balance and scales belong to the Lord; All the weights of the bag are His concern.
Proverbs 11:1 – A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.
In biblical times, merchants used scales in the marketplace to conduct their business. Since there was no common currency, they would weigh out the silver and gold to determine what had been paid, and in some cases weigh out what had been purchased. On one side of the scale they would place the standard measurement weights, and on the other side they would place the silver or gold being used for payment of the product being purchased if sold by weight.
Apparently, it was common business practice for merchants to have multiple sets of weights. One set would be the true weights, another would be heavier, and yet another would be lighter. The heavier weights were used to make the customer weigh out more silver and gold, to pay more for the same product. The lighter weights were used to weigh out less product, to give the customer less for the same price.
Now we might say that this manipulation of the weights was just business as usual, that it was merely negotiation – a sort of buyer beware or survival of the fittest mentality. We might say that these practices are value neutral, neither ethical nor unethical.
We might say these things – but that is not what God says. As outlined in the scriptures above doing fair and consistent business is very important to God and therefore it is important to us. As a business practice Bill Britt VW will not intentionally mislead a customer through distorting or withholding the truth.
Bill Britt, Jr.
General Manager
