On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in
the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was
sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen
Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the
gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of
the scepter. Esther
5:1-2
In
modern times, Esther’s entrance might have looked more like this: “Are you out
of your mind, Xerxes? Don’t you understand that if you kill all of the Jewish
people, that you’re also killing me. Maybe rather than hiding behind your
servants, you could walk out of this palace gate and see what’s going on for
yourself. But, you’ve surrounded yourself with a bunch of yes men and you just
do whatever they tell you to do. King, my foot. You’re no Nebucchadnezzar old
boy…” But, Esther was wiser than that. After all, Queen Vashti didn’t leave a
forwarding address.
There
is a place to speak our minds, but I believe that Jerry Springer’s show is no
longer on the air. Before we release a head of steam, we have to think about
the effect that we will have. No one is motivated by scolding. No one wants to
hear how terrible they are. Most of us are already fully aware of our
weaknesses. When we treat others disrespectfully, we treat them as less than
human. They are no longer a person to reason with. We have lowered them to a
mammal that must obey. No wonder they bite back.
There
was much at stake in Esther’s appearance in the throne room. If she didn’t
handle herself correctly, her cause and her life would end. While most of us
are not threatened with death in how we handle conflict or disputes, sometimes
our actions will put to death communication and any chance at resolving an
issue. Even if the other person seems to be unreasonable that doesn’t give us
license to jump off the cliff with them.
Showing
respect will go a long way in receiving favor from another person. The days of
name calling and ridicule should have stopped in elementary school. If you were
the other person, which you could never imagine, how would you want to be
treated? Why do they do what they do? What is their motive? What is their
heart?
Don’t
let your misbehavior become the issue. Let the issue be the issue, and approach
the other person with respect.
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