I Don’t Want Justice

Esther 7: ⁸ Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.

The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”

As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. ⁹ Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”

The king said, “Impale him on it!” ¹⁰ So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

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Bragging was an art in the position I was in. It was concealed by the words “self-promotion” mixed in with a hint of “praising my team.” I wasn’t always a master at it though. One day I blurted out “I” worked hard and “I accomplished whatever. I did this because I was tired of my thieving boss stealing credit for ideas he had no clue about.  I was pulled aside and told “don’t ever do that again. “What” I said innocently. “Don’t be a braggart.” I was labeled a trouble maker for a while until I learned the right bragging mix.

• Spotlight seemed like the place I wanted to be.
• Headline seemed like the words I wanted to hear.
• Top spot seemed like the place I deserved.

Haman was a braggart who would do anything to gain power. He ordered to have GOD’s people murdered, simply because he didn’t like them or how they were handling things. He would then self-promote about his wealth and title. Little did he know his demise was around the corner. He received GOD’s justice. I felt the same way when I was looked at as the troublemaker. What was I to do?

• GOD says “Do not think more highly of yourself.”
• GOD says “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”
• GOD says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

True humility is what GOD is looking for, not the fake stuff I sprinkle here and there when I can tally how humble I have been when I rant to GOD in a tantrum. GOD is looking for the times when I have served and no one knows about what I have done but HIM and me. Service cannot wipe away sin rather it is a celebration of not receiving GOD’s justice.

• Are you bragging about something?
• Are you mad at someone because you are doing more of the work or you are “better” than them?
• Are you yelling at GOD and telling HIM how humble you have lived?
• Can you leave the humble judging to HIM?

Wish Prosperity on Your Enemies

Esther 6: ⁶ When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”

Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” ⁷ So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor,⁸ have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. ⁹ Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’”

¹⁰ “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”

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They brought me in a small room and asked me if the other guy would be a good fit for the top position of the company I interviewed for. This was strange to me. “Why ask me?” I thought to myself. If I answer “He’s horrible, pick me” it could show I’m not a team player, on the other hand if I say “He’s great” then I may be giving the position up. What should I do?

• Many times I have had to face my ego.
• Many times I have had to face the choice of slandering versus speaking highly of a person.
• Many times I have had to face getting passed over.

Wishing the demise of someone feels so good at the time, especially if that person has been very irritating to me. When I see them go down in flames I feel great because maybe I can get their spot. BUT GOD desires something different of me.

• GOD wants me to delight when HE places people above me so I can serve as JESUS served me.
• GOD wants me to enjoy when HE blesses people I don’t like, because it shows HE is truly unbiased in HIS view and has even forgiven me.
• GOD wants me to sing praises when HE does great things in other folk’s lives because it shows HIS power and majesty over everything.

Pouting when someone else “wins” is a sure sign of immaturity on my part. In fact, just the thought of someone “winning” is immature. If I am part of GOD’s kingdom then I should delight in what HE is doing all around me. HE loves when I change my pouting into praise. The more I can truly praise HIM for blessing others the more HE blesses me either in this life or the next.

• Are you pouting over someone’s prosperity?
• Are you on the side of slander or speaking well about “that” person?
• Can you realize that maybe your attitude towards other people may be why GOD holds blessings back from you?
• When will you mature and wish others the best like GOD wants the best for you?

Those People

Ester 5: ⁹ Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. ¹⁰ Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.

Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, ¹¹ Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. ¹² “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. ¹³ But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”

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Riding my bike made me feel free. One time I was asked to go on a bike hike so I begged my mother. After her reluctant twenty questions she caved in. I jumped on my bike and we rode further than I would have ever imagined. We crossed the railroad tracks and went into a very unfamiliar neighborhood. Suddenly many of the people in the park chased us, calling us names. We sped away.

I recalled this incident as my parents were driving through another unfamiliar neighborhood and as we sat at a light someone threw a slush ball with a concealed rock at my window. I then recalled these incidents as I walked down the hall at a major university, only to be called a name. This lit my rage. I bundled the incidents together. Found a friend and was going to teach “those people” a lesson!

• Sometimes my hatred is cloaked in justified rage.
• Sometimes my hatred is hidden by something I wanted to do anyway.
• Sometimes my hatred is mixed in with a misunderstanding of a group of people.

It is so easy to stoop to a low position of looking on the outside of a person and putting them into a category, but I have done this in the past. This has caused me to mistake good people for bad and lumping what a single person did into an entire category of people who really shouldn’t be categorized.

• GOD said to me “All have sinned and fall short of MY glory.”
• GOD said to me “I have no respect of persons, I want salvation for all of my human creations.”
• GOD said to me “It does not matter where they came from, it matters where I am sending you.”

If I go down the road of hatred or counter-hatred then I am on a very destructive path. GOD knows my heart has evil in it and has forgiven me through HIS SON. HE desires that I tell people of HIS everlasting love for me regardless of my sins. HE needs to be my focus of resolution.

• Are you mad at “them?”
• Are you lumping large groups of people together without looking at your own sins?
• Can you start searching for those who need to hear GOD’s message from you rather than teaching “them” a lesson?
• Will you seek first the kingdom of GOD today?

If I’m Not Part of the Solution I’m Part of the Problem

Esther 4: ¹¹ “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

¹² When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, ¹³ he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ For 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?”

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“Why would anyone travel out of this country?” I said to many people as we discussed missions trips. I mean we have poor people and people in need right here. I carried this belief for years. Then one day a pastor challenged my belief. “Come with me to Zimbabwe” he said. I pictured muddy water and the bloated, starving baby with the fly in his eye. BUT “something” made me go anyway. It changed my view of the world.

• Sometimes I think GOD is here to only protect me and my family.
• Sometimes I think GOD is limited to only my small area.
• Sometimes I think my calling is tiny.

When I arrived I was shocked by the skyscrapers, pristine golf courses and malls. But when we went into the rural areas I say the extreme opposite. Six or seven slept in a one room shack as large as a bathroom. The people we saw were not physically starving, but mentally and even more, spiritually. How can I fix this?

• GOD said to me “Go to the uttermost parts of the world.”
• GOD said to me “Seek first the kingdom of GOD and all these things will be added to you.”
• GOD said to me “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”

There is a world of hurt out there. I can focus on trying to find out why some people remain greedy and point at them or I can go out and help those in need. I also cannot think poverty cannot happen to me. I cannot fix poverty, nor can I change the mind of the arrogant and greedy people. GOD is the one who provides. HE sends me to serve just like HIS SON was sent to me.

• Are you avoiding understanding the problem?
• Do you think you can isolate yourself by going to church and hanging around Bible studies?
• When is the last time you actively sought out helping someone in need strictly because GOD said for you to do this?
• Can you seek GOD’s kingdom today and allow HIM to deliver you to people with HIS message of grace and salvation?

Standing Firm

Esther 3: After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. ² All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

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Each morning I would perform my ritual of listening to a well thought out GODLY message at work. One person took it upon himself to start a network where he would give the message and people would forward the voicemail to people throughout the company.

When that person left the company people looked around for another person who would take on this daily daunting task. When they asked me I thought to myself “I can’t show I follow JESUS, I may offend my employees who do not believe.” I declined.

• There have been times where I have been ashamed of GOD.
• There have been times where I have hidden my beliefs in order to gain whatever.
• There have been times where I have backed away from GOD because I was in a business setting.

I went to church so wasn’t that enough? I mean the company policy says we need to have extreme diverse views so I had to be quiet, right? Wrong!

• GOD says to me “Do not be afraid of humans who can harm the body but fear GOD who can harm the soul.”
• GOD says to me “If you are ashamed of ME then I will be ashamed of you.”
• GOD says to me “I raised you up to certain levels for MY purpose.”

God did not put me in a job just to become rich and hide who HE is. HE cannot be secondary to my life, but many times I treated HIM like HE was a closet genie. I would pull HIM out in secret and put HIM away when HE fixed the problem, meanwhile I could sin and be part of the crowd. It seemed like a pretty good life.

GOD wants me to follow HIM, proclaim HIS word, profess HIS SON and when someone threatens my livelihood, move on knowing HE will protect me. GOD is the answer, not mankind.

• Are you bowing down to the god of money?
• Do you fear being as bold as GOD is calling you to be?
• Do you think you will hurt someone’s feelings if you spoke up about your relationship with GOD?
• Can you start by confessing your relationship with GOD, having no expectations of people converting to your beliefs right away?

Opportunity Comes at Strange Times

Esther 2: ¹⁹ When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. ²⁰ But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.

²¹ During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. ²² But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.

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My roommate and I were walking back from class when the dorm director pulled up and asked us, “Would you like to visit a nearby college?” We jumped in the car and reveled our first trip to another world.

Another time I was sitting and waiting for my interview, and was called in early. The other candidate decided to go with another company. I got the job.

Yet another time a large company was reorganizing and I was in a conference room confused about the future. It just so happened that I was in the conference room of one of the people who was initiating the change and I was invited to help.

• Sometimes I thought I was simply at the right place at the right time.
• Sometimes I thought I was simple lucky.
• Sometimes I thought I had what it took so therefore I made things happen.

I have learned over the years that there is no such thing as luck and positioning myself to be at the right place could never happen the way it has happened in my life. In fact, the times I tried to position myself for something I wanted got met with huge disappointment. What am I to do?

• GOD wants me to rely on HIM to deliver the right path HE wants me on.
• GOD wants me to understand HE is the one who provides favor.
• GOD wants me to believe HE can provide, protect and prevail over any circumstance.

There are no coincidences. GOD has me right where HE wants me at all times. HE is blessing me thoroughly even when I don’t recognize it.

• Are you trying to position yourself to be at the right place at the right time for something you want?
• Do you place luck over faith?
• Can you start having faith in GOD today?
• Can you open your spiritual eyes and notice where GOD has you so you can be useful to HIM today?

Titles May Mean Trouble

Esther 1: ¹⁰ On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas— ¹¹ to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. ¹² But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.

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After years of scratching and clawing my way up, I had finally reached the top! I could finally make some decisions and get things done. I called a meeting of my entire staff so I could meet everyone and give them my high level plan.

One of my employees refused to come to the meeting. I brushed this absence off until she refused to come to my next gathering. I then wanted to get rid of her. I approached her and asked, about the absences. Turns out she was the only one who was supporting a large number of systems and my meetings conflicted with her support.

• Sometimes titles give me an ego.
• Sometimes titles blind me to what’s going on.
• Sometimes titles make me believe I am important.

It seems like titles have made me think people should react to me in a special way. Titles like VP, Senior Director, Manager, Husband or even Dad commanded some level of respect and I craved it. BUT GOD wants me to see something different.

• GOD is the most high so I should look to HIM for my power
• GOD is the being I get my power from and titles are meaningless.
• GOD became a human, giving up HIS title of GOD just to die for me and is now raised up above all with the highest title.

Titles seem to ruin my humility. I do not mean I should not have a title or become a pushover when I have one, rather I should accept whatever title I have as a gift from GOD and treat it with the humility HE has bestowed on me.

• Do you demand respect and are not getting it?
• Are you frustrated with the people who are supposed to be following you?
• Can you point your life to GOD instead of yourself?
• Can you humble yourself before the only being who deserves a title, namely JESUS?