Contemplative Bible Reading

Esther 6:6 (New Living Translation)

So Haman came in, and the king said, “What should I do to honor a man who truly pleases me?”

Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?”

I love to read the (hi)story of Esther and those around her in the royal court. Haman is the model of the antagonist for all history. He is also the model of arrogance for all history. Two models for all history in one person, not bad for a bad guy.

Here, Haman asks himself, “Who would the King honor more than me? Of course, me. I am the greatest servant to the King who ever lived. Long live me!!!”

Haman died shortly thereafter. He wanted honor too much and put himself in a position to die.

Today? Well, not much has changed in a few thousand years. Daily I see folks who want to be honored just a little bit too much. The good folks are ambitious. The bad folks are just a little too ambitious. The extra-ambitious folks succeed for a while, but…

Me? Oh, finally got to me. Sigh. Rats. I fall into this too easily as well. I just can’t seem to accept the uncountable blessings of God as they are. There must be something more for me, right? Who deserves such-and-such more than me? Here comes Haman. There goes Haman.