3.220 How You Treat Others Matters

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth and the light of the world, reminding us that our lives are meant to preserve, illuminate, and point others to Him. This season on Savory Salt, we'll walk through the Old Testament, one verse and one thought each day. Perhaps these moments will add greater savor and brighter light to our lives as we seek to truly live as Savory Salt.

Hello, my friends. It's a new day with new opportunities. Choose ye this day whom you will serve.

I cannot tell you the number of times students' behavior got better towards me the closer we got towards final grades being due. What does that have to do with Esther and her story? Perhaps today's reading will elaborate a little bit on that experience.

As we get into this, think of it for just a second. Have you ever had someone that maybe doesn't even acknowledge your presence and then all of a sudden when they need something from you, they show up super friendly? I had that experience many times as I just shared with you, one of them for me was when I was a teacher and often experienced students come in and totally change their way they approach things with me.

They change their tone. Oh, Mr. Roberds, you're so great!

Only to turn around and make sure that they were asking if everything was going to turn out all right for them. I want to get into our verse for today. Here, I'm just not going to make it through all of Esther's story.

That's just on you, and that's okay. I keep wanting to get further into Esther's story and keep finding these little nuggets that I want to make sure that I capture here for me and for you. Today we're in Esther chapter 5 verse 2.

This is Esther going in now to talk directly with the king. It says this in verse 2, "And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight. And the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand.

So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter." Now this may seem like just kind of an inconsequential verse here, except we have to remember the context of everything that's happened before it. First of all, we know that the king is ultra angry when the women in his life don't do the things he asked. In fact, the previous queen was removed from that position because she did not follow his commands.

Then we also need to remember that Esther was commanded to never interrupt the king. And so her life is in danger by doing this. So here, what came through my mind in verse 2: In order for this golden scepter to be extended to Esther, how do you think she'd been treating the king before this moment ever happened?

I have to think that this was not the first time that she approached the king in kindness and with a servant attitude. I have to think that she's kind of built up this deposit of trust, that she's someone that's reliable. She's someone that's going to follow the king's lead and his commands.

And that's what opens the door for her to be able to seemingly interrupt the king. This little phrase, to me, would magically change the outcome. My friends, I have to think that Esther had developed a relationship of trust with the king well before she ever came in to ask him to dinner and to set up this question for him.

It's not mentioned explicitly, but we see a king with a hot head, with a temper that seemingly gets very, very angry when others don't follow his commands. And yet somehow Esther makes it through here. I do believe that with the faith and fasting we talked about earlier yesterday, that that combined with the way that she had behaved and treated the king up to this point was a combination that led to her success.

So my friends, as you go forward today, take a look at the others around you and just remember that how you treat others matters because you never know when you may need to approach and ask for a little help from them. As of today, my friends, you and I have come here for such a time as this. Step forward in faith and let's be savory salt. We will be here tomorrow and we hope you are too.