What does Proverbs 11:1 mean?

God has a strong displeasure for dishonest business dealings; He approves of those who are honest in their professions. Amos 8:5 quotes crooked businessmen as looking forward to the end of religious holidays so they can pursue their crooked business practices. They ask: "When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances?"

In Solomon's time, scales were used in the transaction of business, and stones were placed in the balances to weigh what was sold or purchased. Dishonest businessmen would use light stones when selling and heavier stones when buying to determine the cost of a product. Today, an equivalent might be dishonest scales in a butcher's shop or rigged pumps at a gas station. Spiritually speaking, any deliberate act to "take advantage" of others would fall into the same category. Dishonest business practices do not escape the Lord's attention.