That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book
of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It
was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of
the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate
King Xerxes.
“What honor and
recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.
“Nothing has been
done for him,” his attendants answered.
The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just
entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling
Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.
His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.”
“Bring him in,” the
king ordered.
When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done
for the man the king delights to honor?”
Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king
would rather honor than me?” Esther 6:1-6
Mordecai
demonstrated selflessness by reporting the plot against the king. He had
nothing to gain from getting involved. Mordecai did the right thing, but was
never rewarded. He might have felt the satisfaction of a job well done. He
might have felt gypped. Either way, Mordecai could sleep at night.
Haman,
on the other hand, was vengeful, arrogant, deceitful and proud. He received a
promotion out of the blue and become second in command to Xerxes. Haman was
overly impressed with himself. I imagine that he carried a picture of himself
in his wallet.
When
Xerxes discovered the error of having never rewarded Mordecai, he asked Haman
what the reward should be. Haman instantly thought of himself as the one worthy
of reward. If you looked up self-centered in the dictionary, Haman’s picture
would be right there. After all, who else could the king possibly want to
honor?
How
much do you tend to think about yourself? When someone makes a passing remark,
do you immediately assume that it’s about you? Are you oversensitive or
defensive about everything? When we put ourselves in the center, it’s all up to
us to make everything okay (for us). That’s a very heavy burden. When we place
God in the center, we can feel safe and secure. We can experience peace in our
circumstances. It’s no longer all up to us. It’s up to God.
When
putting ourselves in the center might feel safe, it is actually much more
dangerous than we realize. God shouldn’t be your co-pilot. Let God be your
pilot, then go back to first class and put your feet up.
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