When Esther, queen of
Persia, appeared before the king to speak out on behalf of her
people, she did so at the risk of her life. As a young peasant woman,
she had won the king's heart and attained the influence, comforts,
and personal security that accompany royalty. Esther’s integrity,
however, was not corroded by privilege. She was prepared to lay
everything down – even life itself – for the greater cause.
And so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. Est 4:16
Esther had an almost
fairy-tale ascendancy to the throne. The king of the land, in search
of a new bride, chose Esther from hundreds of hopeful, young maidens.
Her beauty and grace captured his heart and she stepped from
obscurity into the high estate of royalty. As Esther became
accustomed to the ease and dignity of royal life, one might have
expected her to hold on to what she had at any cost. What possible
reason would there ever be to ‘rock the boat’ or risk what had
fortuitously become hers?
Esther was a woman of
principle – a woman of conviction. A conviction that is worth
something, always costs something. Esther’s convictions would be
tested to the limit. What were they worth? What would they cost her?
Were they worth more than her fame and fortune? Were they worth more
than her title and influence? Were they worth more than her personal
ease and security? Indeed, were they worth more than life itself? All
would be tested.
Mordecai raised
Esther well. He didn’t gift her with beauty. That was her natural
inheritance. And while he had no earthly riches with which to
establish his young, orphaned cousin, Mordecai did substantially invest in her. When a
rare opportunity arose for a common girl to become queen, Esther
stepped forth with more than her natural beauty. Thanks to Mordecai’s
tutelage, she appeared on Persia’s stage with a poise beyond her
years, a strong connection to her Jewish heritage, and a stockpile of
the faith especially reserved for the poor of this world.
And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Est 2:17
Esther rose to prominence
in Persia (circa 500 BC) for a purpose she had yet to discover. She
came to the kingdom at a divinely appointed time in order to expose a
conspiracy against her people and to help deliver them from certain
destruction.
The church has been
gifted with heavenly beauty and she has become influential in the
kingdoms of men. She too has been invited into the highest spheres of
influence. At an individual level, many Christians in the West enjoy
social acceptance, career success, financial security, and political
influence. We are, like Esther, in the royal courts. Like the Jews in
Esther’s day, Christians have flourished. Like the Hebrews in
Moses’ day, Christians have become numerous in the land.
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| The Lord's Prayer in the House of Representatives, Canberra, Australia |
Christians may have
different perspectives on moral issues. There may be room for debate
and interpretation on certain matters. And then there are
‘line-in-the-sand’ issues. These are matters of deep conviction
and moral certainty for Bible-believing Christians and they serve to
separate the sheep from the goats. In Mordecai’s day, the line in
the sand was bowing down to an egotistical official, named Haman.
Today, the line in the sand is ‘same-sex marriage’. The term
itself is a misnomer. Marriage is, and can only be, between a man
and a woman.
Homosexuality is a
lifestyle choice that is permitted in modern, secular societies. And,
at least in Australia, homosexual civil partnerships have the same
rights and protections as married couples. This extends to property,
parental, and estate rights. [1] Little wonder that many homosexuals
have no interest in marriage. In November 2015, Ireland redefined marriage to include homosexual couples. By the end of 2016, just 0.8% of
Ireland's estimated 282,000 homosexuals had opted to marry. [2] With
legal equality and community acceptance for homosexual relationships,
why then do gay and lesbian (LGBTIQA) lobby groups have their sights
so persistently set on marriage?
Noisy LGBTIQA lobbyists
would have the public believe that the redefinition of marriage is a
noble cause for human rights. The redefining of marriage, however, is
all about securing a symbolic victory. When French revolutionaries
captured Bastille in 1789, it was a symbolic victory. The occupation of the
royal fortress by the revolutionaries announced the end of the old
order. In the same way, the wresting of marriage by homosexuals – wherever it takes place in the world – signals the collapse of the
Judeo-Christian order. This is what the redefinition of marriage is
really about. Wherever it has taken place, the freedoms of speech and
religion have been diminished, traditional family units have been
undermined, and nonsensical gender fluidity theories have
proliferated. The aggressive LGBTIQA agenda is surreptitiously
setting conscientiously-objecting Christians on a collision course
with the state.
The antagonist in
Esther’s day was a man named Haman. He was not content with civil
respect and appropriate recognition of his position. He craved
obeisance. He did not feel secure unless he had the fawning worship
of the people. When Mordecai could not (for fear of God) bow his knee
to Haman, his humble and conscientious objection was misread as a
personal and defiant rejection of the man himself. The insecure and
raging civic leader became irrationally punitive and set out to kill
a good man – a man who had prepared a beautiful and graceful future
queen and a man who had once even saved the king’s life. Mordecai
was a man of conviction and his peaceful, conscientious objection to
an immoral law was framed as sedition, warranting the death penalty.
Not content to just
destroy Mordecai, Haman set out to eradicate the entire ‘troublesome’
race of Jews. Haman could not and would not tolerate dissent, no
matter how peaceful the protest. His position must be celebrated and
applauded. He was not satisfied with appropriate civic recognition.
He demanded worship. And he raged and plotted when he didn’t get
it.
When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage. But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who the people of Mordecai were, therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. Est 3:5-6
Little did Haman know
that Mordecai’s race included the queen herself, and it was her
courage that would deliver God's people and bring about Haman’s
demise. Haman would ultimately hang on the gallows he prepared for
Mordecai.
Mordecai’s reproach is
felt by good people today. The redefinition of marriage to include
homosexual unions is being loudly declared as the progressive,
enlightened path. Dissent to the clamouring demand for ‘marriage
equality’ is proving costly. Australian tennis legend, Margaret
Court, has endured public ridicule and threats to remove her name
from a Melbourne tennis arena because she dared to voice disagreement
to the redefinition of marriage. Coopers Brewery was pressured into a
snivelling, public apology for its product’s placement in a public
(and polite) conversation between two politicians about the
redefinition of marriage. Seventy ordinary Australians were
physically jostled and ultimately barred from attending a public
lecture by a Sydney University academic who voiced concerns about
gender fluidity theory. Christians are increasingly being pressured
to applaud the agenda of the homosexual lobby or remain silent.
Respectful tolerance and civil recognition of homosexual unions is
not enough. You’re either an enthusiast for redefining marriage to
accommodate homosexuals or you are homophobic and bigoted.
Our Lord Jesus Christ
defined marriage.
And Jesus answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Matt 19:4-6
It is not an option for
Bible-believing Christians to be enthusiasts of ‘same-sex
marriage’. In a brave new world of ‘same-sex marriages’ and
everything else that follows, will we become, by default, enemies
of the state? Are Christians being corralled, by a treacherous
minority, into a collision course with the authorities? Governments
do not want enmity with Christians. Christians are the salt of the
earth. Bible-believing churches underpin peaceful and stable
societies and Christians lead the way in serving the poor and
disadvantaged.
Unfairly falling foul of
the governing authorities is not new for God's people. Years before
Mordecai and Esther, another Persian king was hoodwinked by a devious
cabal. King Darius found himself pitted against his most loyal
servant in Daniel, thanks to a small group of conspirators. Hundreds
of years later, the Prince of Peace himself was crucified by an
unwilling Roman governor held to ransom by a cunning, Pharisaical
faction. In modern times, governments have also shown susceptibility
to being manipulated by pressure groups to the detriment of decent,
hard-working, salt-of-the-earth types. Mordecai, Daniel, Christ our
Lord – none of these men were looking for trouble and neither are
Christians. We are decent people who live according to our
convictions and we have a preserving and refining influence in
society.
The story ends well for
Mordecai and Esther and their countrymen. “When the enemy comes in
like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against
him.”(Isa 59:19). While Haman plotted and schemed, he hadn't
counted on two things. Firstly, there was a Jew in the highest office
of the land. Haman didn't know that the beautiful Esther, in whom the
king's heart was enthralled, was none other than a Jewess and
therefore the target of his rage. And secondly, Haman didn't realise
that this hidden, beloved woman of Mordecai's race would have the
courage to reveal herself and put everything on the line to save her
people.
There are Esther types
today in all spheres of society. They can read the writing on the
wall and they can see that Bible-believing Christians have fallen
foul of a ruthless LGBTIQA lobby. At some point they will have to
make an Esther type decision. Will I speak out and be labelled a
bigoted, outdated, enemy of progress and equality? What if I offend
people I care about? What if I damage my reputation? What if I
sabotage my career? What if I make myself a target? Surely God has
not gifted me my enviable station in life for me to throw it all away
because of an opinion on marriage? Is it an opinion or is it a
conviction? Are we people of conviction or convenience? As
was the case with Esther, so it is with us. God has indeed placed us
in our current callings and places of influence for such a time as
this. May we rise to the occasion.
Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Est 4:13-14
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References:
[1] Findlaw Team, 'How Are Same-Sex Couples Recognised in Australian Law?' http://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/4290/how-are-same-sex-couples-recognised-in-australian-.aspx (Accessed: 10/08/17)
[2] Joyce Fegan (14 April 2017) 1147 Same Sex Marriages in 2016. http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/1147-same-sex-marriages-in-2016-447797.html (Accessed: 10/08/17)
