Esther 7:7-10

Esther 7:7-10 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  When we last left the story, Esther had just revealed to the King that there was a plot to kill all of her people, the Jews.  The King was incredulous, as he had issued the order under the influence of Haman, but the King only cared about it once he cared about Esther.  Now, Haman, who had been climbing the rungs of societal power, finds himself on the receiving end of the wrath of the King due to the King's sudden change in how he feels about the Jews.  Haman had been reading the winds, adjusting his personal sails to race ahead, but God was at work through Esther and Mordecai, using these humble servants to transform the future, and the winds have radically shifted.
  Friends, do not invest your life's work in seeking political power and influence for yourselves.  Societal influence is a fickle friend, and if your sense of identity comes from who you know and how often you rub shoulders with 'important' people, it's very likely that shifting cultural and political winds will sweep you off whatever mountain you're trying to climb.  When your identity is defined by where you are in the societal pecking order, you're always striving ahead, and like Haman, the temptation will be to think little of people who stand in your way.  When you keep score like this, you'll never be comfortable.
  When I think of God as my shepherd, God teaches me how to rest.  To rest is to place your confidence in the one who cares for you, who leads you, who protects you.  The people around you right now are the most important people in your life -- how can you encourage them?  How can you use your resources, whatever they are, to help heal the brokenness in their lives?  View the people around you as treasured in the eyes of God, and it'll transform your heart from trying to get ahead into being grateful for the opportunity to love and serve where you are.  Besides, the eternal Son of God has already told you that he wants to come into your life and dine with you, to have an eternal relationship based on love with you -- what more could society give you that could possibly be better than that?