Esther - We Bow Down, or Not.

Esther 3:2-6 All the royal officials at the king's gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor. Then the royal officials at the king's gate asked Mordecai, "Why do you disobey the king's command?" Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai's people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

Okay, so Haman is rewarded. We all know that sometimes life isn't fair - that it seems like the bad guys always win. However, there is something interesting here. Everyone was ordered to bow down to Haman - you know - full down on all fours in homage, and Mordecai refused to do it. Now, it doesn't say Mordecai shouted at the top of his lungs, "No, you jerk! you don't deserve this position and I'm not gonna bow to the likes of you!" He just wouldn't bow.

This was when the guys at the gate started asking Mordecai, "Why aren't you bowing?" To which he replied simply "I'm a Jew". While this may have been a simple reply - it certainly held a lot of weight. Simply stating that you were a Jew meant that you worshiped one God, The God, and would not bow to anyone, or anything else.

Now here's the thing, Haman didn't even notice that this was going on. He was so busy in 'Haman Land' enjoying his high position, that he didn't care what else was going on. Until, the guards came and tattled on Mordecai. Instantly Haman became angry. So angry that he didn't want to kill just Mordedai, but all Jews that believed this way. It was in his blood, remember.

I think we can still get something out of Haman's behavior. If we set our sights on God and do what He's called us to do - don't let all that's going on beneath you send you spiraling downward. Now we know that Haman wasn't a good person, but his actions of letting others' behavior anger him are ones we've all experienced. Just keep reaching for God and don't let the tattletales pull you down.