We could talk about the things Esther was doing so well in today’s passage. We could discuss the way that she skilfully set up an encounter with the King and the evil Haman. We could talk about the way that God seems to be moving in the different players in this episode of the story as the plot and counter plot unfold. But the thing that had the greatest impact upon me as I read it was Haman’s behaviour. In v.9 we discover that Haman went away from the banquet “Happy and in high spirits” and then in v.11 we see him bragging about his wealth, his status and his relationship with the king. In amongst all that self-obsessed boasting we also see his uncontrolled and unjustified rage towards Mordecai. That rage is founded on Mordecai’s refusal to show fear towards him or to give him any respect.
Haman’s problem was that he was a very self-centred man whose whole life was devoted to the promotion of himself to the point where he was unable to see the things that were beginning to brew against him that would ultimately bring about his downfall. (More of that anon).
The problem is that when we become as inwardly focussed as Haman had we stop seeing the bigger picture. When we stop looking at others, we are blinded to the things that are wrong with the decisions we’re making and the direction we find ourselves travelling in. It has been said that the greatest sin of all is pride because it tends to be at the root of most other sins. It’s about what ‘I’ can get out of any given situation for ‘Me’ as opposed to what good can I do for everyone else. Haman was standing on a very slippery slope indeed.
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Questions:
What do we do about pride? How do we help people who have become wrapped up in achieving their own goals instead of blessing the world around them? How do we live life well to show the light of Christ to others?
Prayer:
Lord God grant that we might be lights in the world and a blessing to others. Help us to live day by day loving you first and our neighbours as we love ourselves. In the name of Jesus. Amen.