Verses:
Esther 9 : 1 - 17
My thoughts about the verses:
The new twist the conquered are now victorious. The
King's new decree reaches every province. Those that stood to fight and kill
the Jews were met with violence and destruction. If you look at what happened originally Haman
had offered to give 750, 000 pounds of silver to the King for having the right
to kill the Jews. According to the story
75,000 men were killed who stood up against the Jews.
The Jews had the right to take their property of
those that had attacked them but they didn't.
They only defended their lives.
Those that rose arms against them were stricken down as their own
punishment.
Now I am not condoning this behavior by any means
but I do want to point out that sometimes you have to stand up for what you
think is right. In life we are all faced
with times in which we must put our faith into action. In this case, the Jewish community was
protecting their own life. Yet, they did
not take any reward for their actions.
The fact that they lived and were able to continue on with life was enough
of a reward.
The story goes onto say that the Jews in the capital
city killed all of Haman's children.
Then they hanged them to show the rest of those that might fight them
that they would have the same fate. The bully in the end was defeated and had
to pay the utmost of sacrifices. The
hardest thing that we can face is standing up to those that bully us and
keeping our heads held high.
I want to share the story of a young girl that is my
hero. I will not mention names but I
will tell you that her fight is something we should all follow. She is pretty popular at her school yet very
shy. She has a heart of caring. Several
years ago she asked Christ in her life and she has led by example in many of
the things she has done.
She has now taken on the battle of making friends
with another girl that is being bullied.
She cannot stand it and she is taking up for her because it is the right
thing to do. Because she has befriended
this young girl she has lost friends.
Yet, her motivation is to see her new friend make it through one of the
hardest years that a child faces.
Bullying in the schools and playgrounds has to be stopped. If one child is willing to befriend someone that
is facing this how can we turn our backs on the hundreds more that are bullied
daily.
We as adults need to make sure those children all
around the world grow up in a safe environment. We need to understand that our
children learn from us. If we bully and
treat others bad then our children will follow our example. Yet, if we stand up and treat all people
fairly our children will learn how to be good citizens. They will change the world and bring a
calming peace to all that are marginalized in society.
Children need to learn from us. Think about the story with Esther. Why did they kill Haman's sons? I believe they knew that they would grow up
with the same hate and animosity that their father had. They would want revenge for the father's
death. The children of Israel learned
that they could stand up against bullies.
I believe the best way to do this is not through violence but through
love. Teach your children now to respect
all individuals. Show your children how to love those that are
different. Children are watching
everything we as adults do. If we want a
future of peace where there are no people treated unfairly we must start by
accepting people for who they are. Once
you realize that people's customs are just important as your own you will see
their value.
I know we have experienced times in this century
that the only way to stop hate was to defend ourselves. Yet, if we want to change things for the
future we must teach our children that all people are equal. It is up to us as adults to be the role
models. To praise children those do
stand up against injustice. I believe
that it isn't too late to change the world.
We must start now by helping the future leaders of the World, our
children, learn to treat all equal.
Prayer:
Dear God we thank you for being with us through
life's struggles. We praise you for
making the ultimate sacrifice. We ask
right now that you help us end bullying.
Help us teach our children how to be peaceful. Help us Dear God put away our fears of
differences and accept people for who they are.
Help us be the instrument of change that is needed in the world. In the name of the Risen Savior we pray. Amen
Questions:
The only question is you willing to help children
learn how to stand up against injustice in a peaceful way?
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