Living in the Spirit
September 24, 2018
Scripture Reading: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22
So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.’ Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.’ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, ‘Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?’ Esther said, ‘A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!’ Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. –Esther 7:1-6
‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you’. –Matthew 7:7
I just listened to Elizabeth Warren delivering a speech on Education that had been recorded earlier and was posted on social media. While she spoke the little messages that appeared were nasty stereotypical personal comments unrelated to anything she was saying interspersed with more positive comments that were related to what she was saying. We live in the age of distraction politics and character assassination supported or not supported by facts. The results are that for several years we have had extremely low voter turnout. Now we even must wonder if those little nasty comments are being added from Russia.
Esther was facing a dire situation which required her putting her life on the line asking for the king to save both her and her people. We may not be at that point yet, but our future and the future of our country is at stake when we do not take full advantage of our rights and our responsibilities of being citizens of a country that was founded on the principle of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. We must take the time to understand the issues and the character of the people we support.
Prayer: Lord, guide us as we seek to create a government that tries to find common ground for the Common Good. Amen.