If you do not do what is right,
sin is crouching at your door.
—Genesis 4:7
One of Norman Rockwell’s fabled illustrations pictured a genial neighborhood butcher weighing a turkey for an elegant elderly lady. The eyes of both were focused on the scale’s display. The butcher had his thumb on the scale, pressing down; the woman had her finger underneath the scale, pushing up. Neither was aware of the other’s deception, neither disturbed by their own dishonesty, nor about God’s perspective: “The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight” (Proverbs 11:1).
Dishonesty takes many forms: product misrepresentation; shoddy workmanship; loafing; lying; cheating. “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7).
The dishonest conceal their deceit—
from others … and often from themselves as well.