Reading in Esther 3, Haman was honored by the king and his servants but Mordecai would not kneel down before Haman. Tensions grew between them because Mordecai was Jewish and his conscious would not allow him to give that much honor to Haman. For a Jew, bowing down and giving honor was reserved for God. It was against the law of God to give reverence to someone like Haman who worshiped idols.
Haman was full of pride and not only wanted to take out his anger against Mordecai but to all Jews by destroying them. Human plotted revenge and convinced the king that the Jewish people had customs that were different from those of all other people; not willing to obey the king’s laws and therefore not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them (V. 8). He even offered great sums of money to help carry out his plot.
We get a picture of the lack of leadership from king Xerxes; his character and values were lacking and his kingdom needed the money since history records that the empire was impoverished at this time. The king readily accepted Haman’s proposal to carry out his diabolical plot. The king saw that the life of certain people was unimportant and that the life of his own people was more important than others.
Our basic values should respect people with customs that are different than our own because all people are very valuable to God. He knows everyone by name and sees the potential and greatness in all people. God sees each of us as a work in progress with value and is loved so much that He sent His Son to die for us. He encourages each of us to become much more than we can ever imagine.
This day with God will be amazing because if tempted to judge, we are reminded of the cross and that that everyone has tremendous value in His eyes. Let us pray that we see all people in our world as God sees them.
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