The Tribute - Esther 10
Mordy was at the right place at the right time. He overheard a plot to assasinate King Xerxes. He could have kept it to himself, but he had connections with Queen Esther, so he told her about it. She told the king and, as a result, Mordy was rewarded. An otherwise unremarkable man, Mordy was rewarded for taking action on what he heard. He was highly rewarded - to the point of second most powerful man in the region as we read in today's short chapter. 3 Mordecai the Jew became the prime minister, with authority next to that of King Xerxes himself. He was very great among the Jews, who held him in high esteem, because he worked for the good of his people and was a friend at the royal court for all of them.There are many other examples of rewards in the Bible, too. If you sit and think for a moment, I'm sure you can easily think of several. Abraham was rewarded for his faith in God. Ruth showed her faithfulness to Naomi and was rewarded with a new family. The faithful servants were rewarded when they invested wisely their talents.
Then, there's the whole discussion of rewards in heaven. There are many promises in the Bible about crowns and prominence based on our works while in our "earth suits."
I bring all this up because I have struggled with this for some time. I believe God is trying to break through to me on this topic. I've fought any thought of rewards in ministry since I surrendered to Him back in 1975. It is important to emphasize here that our motivation for good works should never be the rewards. But that does not change the reality of rewards.
My performance-orientation has caused many struggles in this area since I was a young Christian teen-ager. And, to be honest, I'm still not exactly sure exactly what God is trying to teach me. But, today as I meditated on Mordy and the whole story of Queen Esther, I realize there is something more to this reward issue.
If you have any thoughts, please comment.
I hope you've all enjoyed Esther's story as much as me. I'll be posting separately to announce the next readings, so stay tuned...
peace,
e
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