Deuteronomy 2:6 (KJV)
Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.
My first thought today is that they paid for water—just like we so often do today. The idea that “water should be free” has never really been a reality. Even if we aren’t buying bottled water, we pay for city utilities, and that includes water. Even if we’re on a well system, we paid to have the well dug, we pay for electricity to operate the pump, and we pay for its maintenance. Water has never been free.
But there are lessons more significant in this passage.
They were told to pay for the water because they had been blessed. After forty years of wilderness wandering—waiting for a generation of rebels and unbelievers to pass—Moses reminded them that God had blessed them. Paying fairly for goods and services, not poor-mouthing, not trying to drive the price down unfairly, is a testimony that we believe our God has been good to us.
They were also to pay because God had given the land and the water to others. Offering a fair price not only testifies to what we believe God has done in our life, but also to what we believe God is doing in another’s life. We claim to believe that God loves even the unsaved. We claim to believe that He is working in their lives too. But when we try to take from them without paying fairly, we are saying by our actions that we don’t believe God gave it to them. We behave like the Jews in Jesus’ day when they dismissed Gentiles as dogs.
Years ago, I served as executive vice president of a Bible college in southern California. The school had been there for decades before my tenure, and at one time a well-known man had held my position. I quickly learned that the college had a poor reputation in the community—mostly because of that man’s business dealings. He had convinced many local businesses to “donate” goods or services to the school since it was “God’s work.” Then he would report to the supporting churches how God had “blessed” the college with those provisions, and the churches would praise the Lord. But the businessmen simply felt they had been swindled.
All of us like to be treated fairly. We want a good deal on the goods and services we need. But when we push it the other way—trying to get those services at an unfairly low price, or for free—that’s a poor testimony. It says we don’t believe God has blessed us and that we don’t believe God cares for those we do business with.
#FaithfulTestimony #GodHasBlessedUs #FairDealings #ChristianIntegrity #TrustingGodInBusiness
Fair Trade: A Good Testimony Honors the Lord
💧 Water Was Never Free — even in Bible times, God’s people were commanded to pay fairly for what they used (Deuteronomy 2:6). Why? Because honest dealings show that we believe God has blessed us and that He cares for others too.
👉 Bible Question for You: Do you think the way Christians handle money and business affects their testimony for Christ? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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