New Testament: Esther 3 & 4
Poetry: Psalm 27
New Testament: John 7
And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. Esther 3:2
When I read this description, it reminds me of a scene from a movie. In The Avengers, Loki tells a group of people outside an opera house to kneel before him. There’s one old man in the crowd who stands when Loki says to the people,
“In the end, you will always kneel.”
“Not to men like you,” the gray-haired man says.
Loki responds arrogantly, “There are no men like me.”
“There are always men like you.”
Turns out, he was right! There have always been men like Loki, people who are consumed with pride, hungry for power and so murderous in their pursuit of it that they are willing to wipe out a population of people. Genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia…the Holocaust. These modern tragedies, though horrendous, are not new.
Haman, from our passage in Esther, was so like Loki that he set out to destroy not only Mordecai, but his entire people.
Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. Esther 3:13
I don’t watch scary movies…but isn’t that kind of the plot of The Purge?
Haman was clearly a petty man. Willing to murder an entire race because one man didn’t give him the respect he felt he deserved.
…when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. Esther 3:5
Most of us won’t commit genocide over a slight. Most of us won’t even get filled with fury when we don’t get the recognition we deserve. But we may become filled with jealousy, or bitterness, or discouragement. Ego can take a lot of different forms.
Haman based his worth in his status, and it was easily dismantled when that status was challenged. Like Haman, we can find our worth in the wrong place. Our successes or wins, being right, our appearance, finances, being liked, our intellect… really any number of things. And when that worth is dismantled (as it will surely be) we can go the way of Haman and act out to try and earn what we have lost, or we may simply feel worthless.
I don’t think we’re any more aware of doing this than Haman was. We are deceived, and we experience the results of our deceit, causing us to react. Maybe instead of trying to change our reactions, we would be better served to dig a little deeper and expose where it is we believe our value is based. Awareness may not eliminate our bent, but shining a light on deceit is the first step in seeing the truth.
-Susan Landry
Reflection Questions:
- How would you describe Haman? How would you describe Mordecai? How are you like, and unlike, each of these characters?
- How are you most likely to react when your ego is damaged?
- Where do you find your worth? Is it serving you well? Are there adjustments to be made? What does God say makes you valuable?
Seek Grow Love 