Today’s scripture: Esther 6:1-12 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Ben Lamb):
We’ve all seen it in oodles of sitcoms and movies: mistaken identities and misunderstandings add up to hilarious consequences for the greedy bad guys. But, whodathunk the idea sprung out of the Bible thousands of years before Hollywood sprung out of the land of swaying palm trees?
It’s comical to picture Haman having to put on a facade as required by being the king’s official representative when he doesn’t want to be fulfilling his duty. He’s inwardly thinking something quite different as he delivers to Mordecai the marvelous honor that he presumed he was going to get for himself. He must have been seething!
But how often do we see others (or ourselves) engage in that same activity throughout our everyday lives? When it hits close to home, it’s not always so funny:
- “I’ve put soooo much effort into this project, it’s a cinch that I’ll get the ‘Office Brown Noser of the Year’ Award.”
- “After all of the people around here that I’ve “trashed”, there’s nobody else to receive a high enough job performance rating to merit a raise from the tight budget.”
- “Mom and Dad have rightfully thought of me as the Favored Child. Surely that’ll entitle me to a bigger piece of inheritance pie.”
At first reading, I was mystified as to why the king never spoke flat-out about whom it was that he was referring: “What would be appropriate for the man the king especially wants to honor?” I now think he already knew the essence of Haman’s heart, and went about “helping” Haman discover it for himself as well.
Thought for the day: Although it may take a while, most people who have an inflated value of themselves experience a price adjustment.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.