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Author: Elaine Roub, from the Charis Community in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

To Risk or to Play it Safe?

In Esther it says, “[Mordecai] gave Hathach a copy of the proclamation that had been issued in Susa, ordering the destruction of the Jews [and] asked… Esther to go and plead with the king and beg him to have mercy on her people… Esther gave him this message to take back to Mordecai: “If anyone, man or woman, goes to the inner courtyard and sees the king without being summoned, that person must die. That is the law; everyone… knows that.” (Esther 4:8-11)

Until Mordecai sent the message about Haman’s proclamation to Esther, she was clueless about the danger awaiting her people. She tried to convince Mordecai to discard his mourning garb and put on the beautiful clothes she’d sent him so he could join her for lunch in the palace.

How Esther’s heart must have sunk when she got Mordecai’s message about the real reason for his grief—that her beloved Mordecai and all the Jewish people were about to be destroyed. The last sentence of his note struck terror in her heart: “Please, Esther, go to the King and plead with him to save your people.”

When I’m faced with difficult conversations, especially with someone in authority over me, it usually takes me ages to work up my courage. What am I afraid of? It might just be them saying NO, but usually there’s a lot more at stake. First off, I dislike conflict of any kind; what if they get mad at me? What if my request, especially if it’s on behalf of another, makes them think less of me?

For Esther, everything was at stake. Her life was on the line. How could her uncle ask so much of her? Did he not know that she could die going to the king if he did not summon her? She tried to explain all that to Mordecai.

Have you ever been asked by someone you deeply respect to do something really difficult? Take a minute to think about the response you usually make to difficult or risky situations. Do you come up with lots of justifications for not doing that very thing? Have you got a whole arsenal of self-defence mechanisms? If so, you’re in good company—that’s how Esther started out, too.

Scripture quotations from The Good News Bible, © 1994 published by the Bible Societies/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd UK, Good News Bible ©. American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992. Used with permission.