Esther 3 – Awful Action

Sometimes we don’t see the awfulness of our own ways. Such was the case with King Xerxes’ decree to kill all the Jews. Even if Haman was on the up-and-up it was an awful thing to do just at the word of another.

“Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and little children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.” – Esther 3:13-14

It’s hard for me to even comprehend the making of such a decree. While certainly it was another time, a barbaric one for sure, my mind simply cannot absorb such destruction. But it can absorb a lesson or two.

When our actions involve our authority over other people, it’s almost impossible for us to understand the impact it may have on that person. We can easily move on with our regular lives thinking all is well. The old saying “Out of sight. Out of mind.” certainly can ring true, at least for us. All the while leaving others more devastated than we ever imagined.

Not too long ago I went through a season of conviction in areas of my neglect of others. Mostly related to my leadership deficiencies and how I handled tough decisions with those under my authority. I'm not proud of it, but what I realized is that I failed to carry the burden that was due in understanding the gravity of the situation for the other person. And while the “what” may have been right, the “how” often fell short. The reality is that not dealing with the “messiness” of leadership is easier, especially when the “what” seems right. When we can justify our end actions we can easily reason away any means.

So I made some phone calls and had some conversations to try and make right what I felt I had done wrong. And here’s what I found: the wound of neglect was far greater than I imagined. And the apologies came with great victory… for both of us.

So the lessons for me are these:

• Whenever we see something in scripture that seems so terrible that we can’t relate with it, look deeper into the root of that action, and see if there’s something we can relate to.

• While to us the end (the what) might seem justified, make sure the means (the how) is justified as well. “Way” is God’s expertise.

• Just because we’ve moved on, doesn’t mean we’ve moved forward.

• It’s never too late to try and turn a “done wrong” into a “done right”. It might not be received, but an honest attempt is a Christ-like effort.

Psalm 26 – Strong Statements

“Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.” – Psalm 26:2-3

There are several powerful claims wrapped up in these two verses. It starts with the desire for God to examine our hearts and minds. Stop right there. That’s enough for today. God, David says that he’s willing to let you test and try him. He understands that THAT is the way you examine our hearts and minds.

Forgive me God when I just get mad at you for trials. Forgive me when I act like you’re not being fair. God I’ve asked you to search my heart, yet I don’t know if I’ve ever connected the searching with the testing. I’ve just always thought of them as two disconnected things. I've thought of them as one thing I’d like to happen and one I don’t.

Give me the faith of David to remember that in every test, trial, and examination of our heart and mind, your “love is ever before me”. That makes all the difference in the world.

Help us to walk in continually in your truth, God. Thank you that your truth not only includes righteousness, but also transparency, vulnerability, confession, repentance, reconciliation, and restoration.