Do The Right Thing

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. But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king. Esther 2:21-23


If like Mordecai, you and your people were being held captive by a world power, Xerxes’ assassination might not sound so bad. After all, if the powerful leader was gone, then the kingdom would splinter. Territorial leaders would grapple for power. The instability of the region might even allow for the Israelites escape. But, what often seems right to people is counter to what God intends.


Mordecai, being a devoted follower of the One True God, was not looking for the shrewd thing to do. He wasn’t carefully calculating how to manipulate the situation to his advantage. Mordecai erred on the side of generosity toward Xerxes and obeyed the commands of God. It would have been worse for Mordecai to end up being a co-conspirator in a tyrant’s death than to honor God by his actions and thus remain in captivity.


Mordecai did the right thing. He reported the assassination plot. The offenders were immediately executed, and Mordecai was immediately forgotten. There was no reward. There were no honors. There was no celebration. It was a good thing that Mordecai had better reasons for his actions. If he was looking for recognition, he would have been greatly disappointed.


Most of us are not going to ever overhear an assassination attempt. That’s just not very likely. But, what things do we hear, but choose to ignore? Is there a fellow believer who is headed for a train wreck? He’s started another bad relationship. She’s made bad choices at her job. Without becoming a busy body, how does God want to use you to help that person?


What things seem easy for you to get away with these days? What are you tempted to fudge on in your life? What is the right thing to do, whether anyone else knows or not?


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