How Much is Enough?

In the book of Esther we read about man named Haman. After the selection of Esther as queen, Ahasuerus (Xerxes), king of Persia, promoted Haman to a position above every prince in the Persian realm (Esther 3:1). "And all the king's servants who were within the king's gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him" - (Esther 3:2). Such praise was a delight for Haman. He reveled in the idea of being served.

But there was one man in the kingdom who would not bow down nor pay homage to Haman. His name was Mordecai. Mordecai was a Jew and a cousin of Esther. He had taken her as his own daughter when her parents had died (2:7) and raised her to be obedient (2:20). Even in captivity Mordecai remained a man of principle and dedicated to his heritage. He saw no reason for bowing to such a man as Haman, even when the king's servants persuaded him to do so (3:3,4).

Haman's pride soon turned to wickedness. When he saw that Mordecai would not bow down to him he was filled with wrath (3:5). He sought not only Mordecai's life but also the destruction of the entire Jewish nation. He pled to the king for a decree to destroy them, and his wish was granted. In the execution of his plans, however, he was unsuccessful. The rest of the book of Esther tells of God's providential care for His people in delivering them from Haman's terrible scheme.

There is one more event that stands out to me that typified Haman's attitude. We find it in Esther 5:9-14. Queen Esther had petitioned the king to hear her request at a banquet that she was preparing. Haman had been invited, not knowing that it was Esther's desire at the banquet to reveal her Jewish origin as well as Haman's plot. And so Haman returned home from the invitation with a glad heart, believing that he was being honored above all others in getting to go to such a feast.

As Haman was traveling home he passed Mordecai, who once again neither trembled nor bowed in his presence (5:9). When Haman returned, he told his friends and wife all about his great riches, his promotion, and the invitation to the banquet: "Moreover Haman said, 'Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared'" (5:12). Now notice his very next statement - "Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate" (5:13).

How much is ever going to be enough? We live in a society that has adopted an attitude just like Haman's. We have freedoms; we want more. We have wealth and material goods; we want more. We get to have things our way much of the time, but we want it our way more. We have been given all things by God, including His only Son. … Do we still want more?

Haman's pride and greed led him to prepare gallows by which he planned to hang Mordecai and display him in front of the people. His plans backfired when God stepped in, and he ended up swinging from the very gallows that he had made ready (Esther 7:8,9). Let us never forget what the search for more power and more things will do to us. May we forever understand that what God has provided and has promised to provide eternally is more than enough! May He alone be praised for doing it!

- "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" - (1 Pet. 5:6)