I
have always loved to read the account of the Sermon on the Mount in Luke
6. It is just different enough from the
way it is recorded in Matthew and 3 Nephi to make it interesting!
I
especially love verse 38 that reads:
Give,
and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken
together, and running over…For with the same measure that ye mete [give] withal
it shall be measured to you again.
Back
in Bible times, they had weights and measures, but they weren’t manufactured
with strict standards like ours are today.
It was common practice among merchants to use different sized weights
and measures for the purpose of cheating others.
So,
for example, if they were measuring out something by weight on a balance scale,
they would put a false weight which was lighter than it should have been on the
one side of the scale, so that when they balanced it out with whatever they
were selling, the customer would actually get less than what they were paying
for.
It
would be like putting a 7/8 of a lb. weight on one side, so it would balance
out with 7/8 of a lb of grain on the other side, but the customer would think
he was getting a full lb. and that is what he would pay for.
Or
even worse, they would measure their gold and silver by weight, so they would
put a false heavy weight on one side, so when the customer put his silver or
gold on the other side, the merchant would actually get more than the amount he
was owed.
There
are some verses in the Bible that show that the Lord wanted His people to use
honest weights and measures. See Leviticus
19:35-36 and Proverbs 20:10, 23. See
also Amos 8:4-10 where the Lord is saying what he will do to those who cheat
making the ephah small and the shekel great. The ephah was about 20 quarts and was used as
a dry measure, as for grain. The shekel
was a measure for money. http://www.biblestudy.org/beginner/bible-weights-and-measures.html
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+make+a+balance+weight&view=detail&mid=D16D16B2D49C61DBD79BD16D16B2D49C61DBD79B&FORM=VIRE This is a link to a youtube video showing how
to make a simple balance scale for your kids to see how one works!
Now
let’s go back to Luke 6:38. Here we learn that Jesus not only wants us to use
honest weights and measures, he wants us to be generous and give more than
expected!
That reminds me of
my mother’s father, Grandpa Jacob Norman Lybbert, who everyone called
Jake. Everyone loved him because he was
such a generous person. Sometimes he would sell fruits and vegetables at a
little stand by the highway near his fields. His customers loved him because
they always left with more than they came for.
If
they wanted a small container of something, he would literally do what the Savior
said and shake the container so he could get more in, then pile it as high as
he could until it was running over, before he would hand it to the customer.
If
they came for a cantaloupe, he would always add something to their order, but
not charge for the extra item. I’m sure
that if he were selling eggs, he would always give them a Baker’s dozen! (Who knows what that is?!)
I’m
sure that Grandpa Lybbert was so generous because He knew the Savior wanted him
to be generous. He loved the Lord and
spoke often about Him. In fact, he even
wrote a small book about the Sermon on the Mount, entitled The Greatest Sermon on Earth.
I
looked through the booklet this morning to see if he said anything about this
verse in Luke. He did not comment on it
specifically, but he did comment on Matthew 5:41-42 which says,
And
whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Give
to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou
away.
Here
is his comment. It sounds just like him!
What
a friendly, neighborly, generous person that would be! What a delightful world this would be if it
were full of people like that who were always willing to go the second mile.
The
Lybberts were always known for their warm and generous hospitality. If you came from afar to visit them, you were
always invited to dinner and to stay overnight, and you were treated like kings
and queens. They would always go the
second mile for you.
When
Grandpa passed away in January 1977, we sat down and recorded some of his
favorite sayings. Maybe these will help
you get to know him a little better:
He
that will thrive must rise at five; he who has thriven can lie till siven! [Grandpa always got up at 5 am and began
making phone calls to his friends to make sure they were up, too! This was not always appreciated!]
Do
your best—it won’t be any too good.
[That was said with a big smile on his face!]
We
squander health in search of wealth, then squander wealth in search of health. We live and brag of what we own, then die and
receive a stone.
If a
thing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well. [from a statement by Benjamin Franklin]
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