There is a well-known quote, often wrongly attributed to the political thinker Edmund Burke that says, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I don’t know who actually said it but we should understand and absorb the simple, succinct weight of deep truth that it carries. If we see something bad happening, we should do something about it. As followers of the living God that’s our job – to stand up for all that is good and worthy.
We also have a phrase that speaks of ‘turning a blind eye’ when we know someone is doing something wrong that we also know we ought to challenge but don’t; often because we have some personal interest in the outcome. Esther was in that unenviable place of privilege where she was party to information about evil activity that required her to act. But she knew that her actions might come at great personal cost so she could have turned a blind eye.
Mordecai made the situation clear to her setting out his faith in God as he did.
- 14 If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
As you read the chapter for today each of us should be asking ourselves what it is that God has placed us for here and now. We live and a world that is so peppered with evil that it’s sometimes difficult to know what is right and what’s wrong. And yet, we are all called to act in ‘such as time as this’ when we see things going on that we know to be evil. When we don’t, evil succeeds and nothing changes – people suffer and even die when good people do nothing in the face of evil. We’ll see how Esther’s story unfolds but we should recognise that we all live our own story and there will be times when we need to act if evil is to be defeated.
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Question:
If you think about the people you know or the place where you live what’s happening that makes you angry or cross? Where do you see injustice or persecution? Where do you see evil being meted out? What are you doing about it?
Prayer:
Oh Lord our God, strengthen our resolve to meet evil where it stands before us and to act so that your mighty love is poured out in its place. For Your namesake we pray. Amen.