TRUE SIGNIFICANCE

Esther 1:1-3:15; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Psalm 35:17:128; Proverbs 21:19-20

“When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti.”

 “But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized! When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper.”

“O Lord, you know all about this. Do not stay silent. Do not abandon me now, O Lord.
 Wake up! Rise to my defense! Take up my case, my God and my Lord. Declare me not guilty, O Lord my God, for you give justice. Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.”

It’s hard to know at first blush what to say about Esther. She certainly did not come to be Queen as a result of any great spiritual decision. If pressed, most of us would admit to feeling a little morally conflicted about her role as a conscripted concubine-turned-monarch. But I think there are several more positive points to be drawn from her story that are especially relevant to circumstances today.

First, God raises up. Oh, I know we talked about resurrection just last week at Easter, but that’s kinda the point. Easter need not be just a once a year event focused on an ancient tomb in Israel. Resurrection (even if a bit metaphorically) is offered to us in the here and now. If we allow Him to do so, God can and will raise us up out of the depravity, anxiety and frustration of everyday life just as surely as He raised Jesus from the grave. How else could an obscure Hebrew female go from being an impoverished orphan to beauty queen to real Queen to the savior of her entire race? That’s more coincidence than even the most optimistic among us could credibly accept. But the point is, it did happen. Divine compassion reached down and found its voice in a young female heretofore all but invisible to the larger world. We are never insignificant when we are aligned with the Creator.

Which gets to the second point. Esther apparently needed help aligning herself with the Will of God throughout her life, but her willingness to listen and learn saved the entire Hebrew nation. This does not imply she was wayward necessarily, only that her full purpose might never have been achieved without some helpful advice. Her primary saving grace seems to have been her willingness to accept the counsel of those who attempted to help her. Actually, her real gift was even more fundamental. Distilled to its essence, Esther’s great advantage was an absence of blinding pride. She was never too proud to accept the help of others. More important, she was willing to admit when she needed it.

There was no false bravado in Esther – not an ounce. Nor was there a victim mentality. Where she could have felt demeaned, Esther claimed blessing. She did not fight circumstances, but accepted and reconciled herself to them and allowed them to work for her and for her people. She played her part in history so well because she filled the role thrust on her perfectly. She took advantage of her situation in a positive way without trying to take the one extra step of “more.”

How different was the approach of the Corinthians! Literally elbowing each other away from the Lord’s Table to claim more for themselves, church members developed pathological egos. They worked to create divisions in the Body rather than heal them, just to get noticed. The illogic of their actions was lost on them. They ignored the opportunity to get noticed for doing good and replaced it with a penchant for being right and powerful. Paul made clear there is nothing worthy of praise in these sorts of actions. The notoriety one gets from doing evil is not the sort of notice that counts for much that really matters. Certainly, it does nothing to build up or save others.

Each day, we face any number of choices. Ultimately, though, most come down to a single decision. We must decide whether to live in pride or humility.  This may give rise to other, derivative preferences – like whether we decide to live for ourselves or others – but most of these are resolved by the pride vs. humility choice. It sets our course, and is a very real decision.

I too often act out of pride, but today, I cast my vote for humility. Humility just works better in the long run than pride. Humble people seem to have less stress in their lives, and they seem much less likely to experience lasting conflict. They live life with a consistency and balance and contentment I can only envy. Moreover, the truly humble are some of the most visible and significant people I know. It’s just that no one hears it from them. I think I work too hard at trying to be important. A little more reconciliation to circumstances and a little more positive outlook about how they might work to good would probably give my soul a lot more rest. And a restful soul in troubled times is a soul that remains most available for the Holy Spirit to use most fully. It is not afraid to seek help and follow the advice of others. It does not reject the opportunities of circumstance, either, especially when humility is a prerequisite to claiming the opportunity. Perhaps it really is the truly humble who are the truly significant.