“The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.”
A Jew named Mordecai refused to kneel when Haman, a high-ranking Persian official, passed by. This so incensed Haman that he convinced the king to decree destruction for the entire Jewish race. Afterwards the king and Haman sat down to drink together as though the decision was routine.
Haman has two fatal flaws:
The first is pride. Haman influences the king to retaliate for someone disrespecting him. Haman’s lethal mistake occurs because he was obsessed with being offended. Mordecai refused to honor him, and he just couldn’t get past it.
We call Pride a mental illness (narcissism) but it’s really a spiritual disease. It is the original sin and causes the created to suppose they are the Creator. It is a flaw that precedes destruction…. In this case it produced hate, and anger that caused Haman to lose touch with reality.
Prideful rage brings on a storm that produces actions and words that seem sensible at the time but when the clouds clear, stupidity is all that is left. Even the pagans in Susa were bewildered at this heartless overreaction.
As men, we must recognize pride to be the blinding, ignorance inducing, emotion that it is. Any honest evaluation will reveal that self-centeredness has never made you do anything you’re proud of…Yet for some reason, we tolerate it in our lives.
Haman’s second issue is lack of community. Show me your friends and I will show you your future. It is important to have the right people in your circle who will speak up when you get ready to do something foolish.
Haman’s friends supported his insanity…even encouraged it. What Haman needed was a brother to warn him that his pride was getting the best of him. That small pain of correction would have saved Haman from the greater pain of the gallows.
Don’t recruit cheerleaders as friends – find guys who speak the truth in love. People who would rather benefit you than always be comfortable. Pride can slip in unnoticed, and you need companions who will watch your back. Pick your friends carefully because life is a team sport.
“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”
- King Solomon
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