DO NOT BE SELF-CENTERED

THE DAILY FOUNTAIN DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE OF THE CHURCH OF NIGERIA (ANGLICAN COMMUNION)

DATE: WEDNESDAY, 19TH JULY, 2023 

TOPIC: DO NOT BE SELF-CENTERED

TEXT: ESTHER 8:1-17

1. On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told how he [was related] to her.

2. So the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over the house of Haman.

3. Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews.

4. And the king held out the golden scepter toward Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king,

5.  and said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight and the thing [seems] right to the king and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to annihilate the Jews who [are] in all the king's provinces.

6.  "For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?"

7.  Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, "Indeed, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he [tried to] lay his hand on the Jews.

8.  "You yourselves write [a decree] concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king's name, and seal [it] with the king's signet ring; for whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring no one can revoke."

9.  So the king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which [is] the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third [day;] and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces [in all,] to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

10.  And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed [it] with the king's signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds.

11.  By these letters the king permitted the Jews who [were] in every city to gather together and protect their lives -- to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, [both] little children and women, and to plunder their possessions,

12.  on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which [is] the month of Adar.

13.  A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province and published for all people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

14.  The couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king's command. And the decree was issued in Shushan the citadel.

15.  So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.

16.  The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor.

17.  And in every province and city, wherever the king's command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.

 

MESSAGE:  

After Haman was hanged on the gallows, king Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman unto Esther the queen (v.1). She also brought Mordecai to the king after telling him the relationship between him and her. The king gave Mordecai the ring which he had taken from Haman and he was set over the house of Haman (v.2). Esther took a further step by pleading with tears before the king to put away what Haman had devised against the Jews because a day had been set aside through the decree that all Jews would be destroyed (3:12-15). The king consented to the demand of Esther (vv. 3-10); another counter decree was made in favour of the Jews to defend them on the day the enemies of the Jews were to strike (v.11). Esther used her position as a weapon to bring deliverance and joy to her people. Her comfortable position did not make her neglect her people. She brought joy and gladness to the depressed Jews (v.17).

 

Many people in positions of authority today in Church and society, run after their own gains. Quite often, politicians, having obtained the mandate to serve, neglect those who voted them to power and close their eyes to their campaign promises. Some Christian men and women neglect their homes when they attain a new position. In some instances, they settle down with new spouses. As a child of God, whatever position you occupy is for service of God and His people. A self-centered person does not think about others but himself. a self-centered person will cry in his days of distress and no one would attend to him. He will not receive help at the most critical point of his life (Prov. 21:13). Learn from Esther!

Prayer: 

Lord, take away from me every self-centeredness, in Jesus name. Amen.