day 1044: Fairness

"The LORD demands accurate scales and balances; he sets the standards for fairness."

Last week, there was a significant ruling against the global bank, UBS. It's a long and arcane tale of many years of a group of people scamming the LIBOR ( LIBOR is the London Interbank Offered Rate and among the most common of benchmark interest rate indexes used to make adjustments to adjustable rate mortgages). What had happened was a group of people were colluding to sway the rate up or down in their favor and then would invest on the knowledge of what the changes would be.  The best explanation I heard of what was happening was that it would be like taking the international kilogram weight standard (which happens to be a piece of metal that is locked in a vault in Switzerland) and each day shaving off a little bit or adding some weight and then gauging all of the weight measurements for the day off of the adjusted standard. Imagine that for a day, a pound of coffee could be sold at its' full price, but the manufacturer was able to package an ounce less than a full pound.  There would be a lot of savings in material and as such, a lot of money to be made.  So, that is what happened and some guys got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. What can cause us to lose sight of fairness and take advantage of others?  It can only be greed and our self-serving attitudes.  Let's never lose sight that we must be fair in all that we do, or we risk the loss of reputation, or worse.

Fairness can feel hard to know but when in doubt we must return to the One who holds the ultimate scale for all of us.  We are fortunate that we have God's Word and presence in our lives to help us determine what is truly fair and equitable. That said, we all know where the bright line of fairness is and that we cannot cross. Our example as believers is important and crucial in furthering God's Kingdom. Let's at this year-end take an extra assessment of ensuring that we are being fair and equitable with all of those around us, in our work and at home.

Reference: Proverbs 16:11 (New Living Translation)