ESTHER: THE RIGHT THING
WHAT GOD’S PEOPLE WITH MORAL CONVICTIONS DO
Once a person with moral convictions determines in his or her heart that a certain course of action is the right thing, such a person will do the right thing no matter the personal consequences.
At what point in her life Rosa Parks became aware of the role that would be hers in the civil rights movement, she could not recall for certain, but one thing she did know was that she felt the serenity, the peace of mind, the strength and courage that only God can give long before she took a stand for right over wrong by sitting down in a seat at the front rather than in the back of a bus.
None of us can say for sure exactly when it was, back yonder in those early days of our pilgrimage, that we experienced that “aha” moment when we realized that God was at work in our lives to bring about that which would be good for all of God’s children.
Even at our current age and stage in life, it is not too late for you and me to ask God to give us courage to do the right thing - to take a stand, or if the situation calls for it, to take a seat - for a worthy cause.
With all my might, Lord, as tiny as it may seem to me, if I find myself in the right place at the right time, give me courage to do the right thing, notwithstanding the personal consequences of my moral choices.
Folks: God has a plan for your life. Satan has a plan for your life. The choice of whose plan to follow is yours. Satan uses evildoers to devise schemes that will lead to the demise of good and the rise of evil. God uses doers of good to design strategies that will lead to the rise of good and the demise of evil.
Esther was a Jewish woman of strength and courage who found herself in the right place at the right time after being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
To give context to her story, please recall that God’s plan for His people had been sidetracked by His people’s rebellion against God, serving other gods, which left the Lord their God no choice but to punish them by allowing their enemies to take them into captivity.
The flip side of their dilemma is that God had a plan of salvation for them; therefore, He would bring them back home from captivity.
In fact, a much larger plan was in the making in that a Savior would be born to a Jewish family in due time – in Bethlehem - and this Messiah would be named Jesus because He would save His people from their sins.
Before any of that could occur, however, God would of necessity work it out for His people to be released from captivity and to return to their homeland.
However, 37 years before Nehemiah would lead the return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls, thereby setting in motion the “rest of the story” that would set the stage for the coming of the Messiah, a fascinating series of events occurred, and was written down on a scroll known to us as the Book of Esther – the totality of these events giving us a glimpse of how God works in and through individuals and their situations to bring about His intended purpose for all people.
The writer of Esther’s story began by telling about a party that King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) threw for elitists from 127 provinces ruled by him. Toward the end of their binge drinking the king ordered Queen Vashti to appear before all the men to show off her beauty. The queen refused, so the king dethroned her and ordered her out of his sight forever.
Xerxes regretted his revengeful act but, due to pride would not take her back; to pander to the king, his aides suggested a beauty contest to find a replacement. It was so ordered.
The winner turned out to be a Jewish maiden named Hadassah (“Myrtle”) whose cousin Mordecai had raised her in the Jewish tradition of virtuosity and family values. Humbly she accepted her new role as Queen.
Truth be told, King Xerxes probably did not care where she was from, but anyhow she kept her promise to Uncle Mordecai to conceal her ethnicity – and, to further hide her nationality, Mordecai had given her a Persian name - Esther.
Queen Esther apparently helped Mordecai get a job at the palace because we are told that, while on duty at the palace gate, he uncovered a plot by two of the king’s servants to assassinate King Xerxes.
Mordecai told the queen about the plot; she in turn informed the king, whereupon the king ordered the two would-be assassins hung – Esther 2:21-23 . . .
Such a situation as this begs the question: What is an honorable person with moral convictions to do when he or she learns of a scheme to do harm? Speak up, or remain silent? Should the risks involved be weighed first? Did Mordecai do the right thing by telling Esther?
This incident about Mordecai taking action to prevent an assassination was apparently soon forgotten by the king’s men but providentially was to play a very important part in the unfolding drama, as is seen in the next intriguing episode in which evil is about to rear its ugly head – Esther 3:1-6 . . .
Tell it like it was: King Xerxes was a drunk . . . He did not care what happened in his kingdom as long as nothing interfered with his lifestyle – a character defect seized upon by Satan to self-servingly try to destroy all the Jews.
Why should this scheme of Satan’s not be surprising? Remember:
Satan tried to kill all male babies in Egypt to stop God’s plan of redemption from being carried out by Moses … Satan instigated Israel’s rebellion against the LORD by dangling before them pleasures and power associated with idolatry – knowing full well God must punish them by sending them into exile, to be heard from no more … Satan was behind Herod’s edict to kill male babies born during the time of Christ’s birth to stop God’s plan of redemption from being carried out by Jesus … Satan historically has tried to eliminate Jews and Christians in his attempt to thwart God’s plan of salvation for the world … Satan never stops trying to stop God’s plan!
Now, this incident involving the elevation of Haman the Jew hater to a high position of honor put Mordecai a Jew between a proverbial rock and a hard place. Mordecai would be violating his own moral conviction if he bowed to a Jew hater, but he would violate Persian custom if he did not. He chose to be true to his conviction. Clearly, folks, Satan uses one’s religious beliefs and practices as an excuse for undermining God’s redemptive work; he does his dirty work by using persons who possess no moral compass - in this case, Haman a hater and Xerxes a dictator.
If you, like me, stay abreast of the news about attacks on the Christian way of life . . . you are aware that there are Haman-like haters in our world who seek to shame Christians for not embracing paganist lifestyles. The most precious word in our vocabulary is used against us: love. The other word is: choice.
“If you Christians love people the way you say you do, you will accept their choices.” Well, precisely because we love people the way we do (the agape way) – the way God loved us and therefore gave His Son to die for us to save us from the wages of sin (death) and to offer us the gift of eternal life - we reject bad choices that are contrary to God’s Will, we persuade those living sinful lifestyles to turn from ungodly ways and turn to God the Father whose love is greater than their sins.
Mordecai decided to stand by his conviction because it was the right thing to do. So must we. He did so despite possible negative consequences. So must we. Mordecai took a firm stand for right over wrong. So must we. Therefore . . .
May we be about our Father’s business of righting wrongs, and may we do so with gentle persuasion as taught by Paul to Timothy concerning ministry in the last days:
“Don’t get caught up in foolish controversies because you know they precipitate violent reactions. Instead, be gentle toward everyone you meet so that you may be able to teach them. As for those who oppose God’s servant, gently instruct them . . . in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will.” (2 Tim. 2)
“Father, grant us courage to take a stand for right over wrong. Prepare us for situations which require us to make a choice. Bless each one of your children with the gift of discernment so that we may always do the right thing at the right time, in the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus. Amen.”
