The Biblical Remix – Bow Down

Esther 3:1-6 – http://bit.ly/biblicalremixbowdown

When you step up to the big leagues you be rolling with kings.  That’s what it was like for Haman.  King Xerxes promoted him to be the top dawg in the government.  He was now such a G, the king even ordered people to bow down and kneel before Haman.

My dude Mordecai was def not feeling that.  He took offense at bowing down before a man as if he were God.  Mordecai loved God and knew worshipping a man was no bueno.

One day a few of the servants were cracking jokes on Mordecai cuz he wasn’t bowing down whenever Haman showed up in the spot.  Mordecai wouldn’t budge.  They kept asking him day after day why he was bugging and not bowing down.  When Mordecai got tired of them harassing him he told them he was a Jew.

You know how people are, so some of those same servants bounced over to Haman’s crib and started talking smack about Mordecai.  They told Haman Mordecai was being mad disrespectful and Haman ought to go handle that.  Haman had never peeped Mordecai before.  So the next time Haman rolled by he looked out for Mordecai.  Bam, that’s when he noticed Mordecai was the only person not bowing or taking a knee.

Haman was pissed off.  In the midst of his rage he started scheming.  In the background this Lox chorus rapped by Lil Kim was playing:

“It’s the key to life. Money, power, and respect, Whatchu’ need in life. Money, power and respect…”

Reflection:

Some of us want to be honored.  And some of us want to be adored and even worshipped.  We don’t say it outright but in our pride we want everyone to know how great we are.

When we step off the stage or when we step out of the pulpit, for some of us there is this craving for not just attention, but pure adoration.  We want to know our words moved people.  We want to know our stories not only got to people, but that we hit it out of the ballpark.

How do you stay humble in the things that you do very well?  What do you do?

I find in many occasions God keeps me from getting the attention my pride wants and feels it deserves.  When I don’t get it, that is when my prideful hearts starts jumping up and down.  It doesn’t usually last long because I have gotten better with strangling it.  But I cannot lie and act as if it doesn’t surface from time to time.

Truth be told, most people have no clue what I am involved in.  I believe that low key element is truly designed by God.  Perhaps if it were different I might get full of myself like Haman did.

Even though we may be achievers, we as a people are not all that.  From time to time we need to remind ourselves that God is sovereign and that He is number one.  We can easily be replaced.  We are not the be-all and end-all of things.

The Bible teaches us that pride comes before a fall (Prov 16:18).  Had Haman known that he wouldn’t have ended up beheaded (yeah, you have to read up to the end of Chapter 7 in the book of Esther).

Happy Resurrection Sunday!