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After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. (Esther 3:1-6)When we meet Haman in Esther 3, he is immediately a dislikable guy. We get pretty quickly that he is the villain of the story, the one who will once again challenge God by plotting to destroy his people. So what's his grievance? Mordecai won't bow to him. This guy is willing to commit genocide over one man not showing him the respect he thinks he deserves. So it's easy to see why we don't like him. Why we can't like him. We can also be quick to assume that we are not like him. That is, until this morning.
As I stared into the mirror of God's Word this morning, I saw my reflection in the attitude of Haman. No, I'm not plotting to wipe out all who won't bow to me, but his "I deserve this honor and respect and you'd better give it to me or else" attitude? Guilty. As. Charged.
Working in public services can sometimes be a thankless job. Sometimes people ask for my help by snapping their fingers and calling me to them without a word. Sometimes I ask how they are doing and they ignore the question and make their request or they will just stand there and say nothing. And it bothers me to no end. I complain about it. I sometimes think about offering free "flying lessons" through the windows behind me. I mutter insults under my breath. I whine and complain. It's no less than the same attitude that drove Haman. I think I deserve respect that people aren't giving me. And that just makes me angry.
It sounds immature, but I wonder how many of us are any different. As I saw myself in Haman this morning, I felt broken. I couldn't believe that of all the characters in the story, I was more like the bad guy. And I found myself confessing and repenting.
And I also found myself remembering the One who did it right. Honored by His Father, Jesus came down into our world. Though He well deserve our service, He came to serve us. He deserved our bowing, our willing devotion, and our utmost respect. Instead, He received our unbelief, our insults, and our anger as He was crucified. He did this for you and me, so that if we believe on Him, our sins will be forgiven, and we will be His people.
The Bible tells us that we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). And so when our old Haman-like attitude creeps in and we are tempted to demand the respect of others, let's turn to our Savior and let His humility remind us of how to respond to others in love and service. I leave you with God's Words from Philippians 2:5-11:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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