Scripture
Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?” Esther 6:8

Observation
The contrasts in this story are Haman and Esther.

Haman thought more of himself than he should. He was given the second position in the land. He flattered himself that the promotion was given to him for his own benefit. Perhaps he saw himself as slighted by life and that he deserved a repayment of honour. After all, his ancestors were the Amalekites. King Saul, hundreds of years earlier, had been given orders to annihilate the tribe. He failed and Haman was a descendant, nursing an ancient grudge. That seems odd to our western ears but grudge pickling is an art form in some cultures. When the king gave him promotion and honour he felt that at last he and his people were being repaid for their abuse. This flattery blinded Haman so that he could not see his lethal pride.

Esther, on the other hand, quickly woke up to the reality that her position had been given to her not for her enjoyment but for God’s benefit. Life for her had been an eternal Avon party followed up by Mary Kay. But when she discovered that she had been elevated to save her people she was prepared to die.

Esther was willing to die so she lived.
Haman sought to hang on so he was hung.

The Haman hangup is the human hangup. We think more of ourselves and our offenses than we should. When we’ve been slighted and then rewarded we can hoard the benefits for our own selfish purposes instead of remembering that we are elevated to serve. No honor is deserved it is to serve others. We are not promoted to make up for past offences. Any honor is given for the benefit of someone else.

Application
Joseph had the same perspective as Esther. He had been promoted to save many lives. When I review the honours that I’ve received in life, some of them I’ve not used as selflessly as I should. What do I have now that is for the benefit of others and not me?

Prayer
Father, nothing I have is deserved. All I have is to serve others. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong United’s “Take It All” as you read today’s devotion on serving.

Scripture
“Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Luke 12:37

Observation
Why do managers get frustrated with counter staff? Why do owners get annoyed with managers? For the same reason that masters became angry with their slaves. There is something about being an owner that  changes how all the world looks. The little piece of litter that a minimum wage person can step around, is the same thing that can make Walt Disney stoop to pick up. Owners see things differently.

Success in life comes when we see the world around us with owner’s eyes. When I see my world as my job, my church, my business then my eyes are opened to little things as big things. With owner’s eyes I do not have to be told what to do; I instinctively know what must be done.

There is a cheap duplicate that can pass for owner’s eyes, but it is not. The counterfeit is called “pleasing the boss.” What drives that is a fear of getting in trouble and a desire to please to be rewarded. But owner’s eyes are more than making the boss happy. Their focus is on what is the right thing to do whether the boss notices or not. The danger of living to please the boss is that we will perform when he is  present or when she directs, but out of sight or if nothing is said, performance sags. The greatest danger of all is that the slave would one day become a boss, and having lived all his life to please those above him, now in the place of leadership does not know what to do. We must have owner’s eyes, to see what must be done, even if nothing is said and if no one notices.

Application
How can I get owner’s eyes? By looking to the Lord. If I am doing what I do for the Lord Christ, I will playowner’s above the rim.  It is a delightful promise, that if I serve well, that in turn Christ will serve me. The motivation in this is not notions of resort living, but the thought that my dearest friend and brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, would want to have a relationship with me so close that he would welcome me, the servant, as a guest. That is true friendship from the truest friend I’ve ever known. That is motivation enough for me.

Prayer
Father, this day, I ask for owner’s eyes. I want to see the church I serve as if it were my own. I want to see the people I influence, the actions I take, the plans I make done before you. There are times humanly that I “space off” and I’m not as alert as I need to be. The problem can be before me, but I don’t see it as I should for what it really is. I cannot see, unless you give me sight. So Master, help me to see and serve. I look forward to the days to come when I will be in your house as your guest. There our friendship will grow to new depths because you will find in me a heart that cherishes your interests. I want to serve you today with owner’s eyes so that one day I can inherit the kingdom as a son and a brother and not as a slave. Amen.

Worship as you read this devotion by pressing the arrow.
Song: Twila Paris Daughter of Grace

Scripture
Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.  And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 2:24-29

Observation
Expectations are a disability. People have expectations of us and we try to achieve them. Even when we are not working we are fretting about ways to live up to expectations or escape from them. Even more disabling, we have expectations of ourselves. Those are the hardest to live up to. They are often hitched to old family mottos, echoing words from parents or teacher from years gone by, or a dream that has held us for ransom all of our lives. Of course, the most demanding expectations of all are those God has for our lives. Those none of us can achieve.

The Bible word for expectations is “the law”. Paul did not mean by “the law” simply the words Moses wrote; the phrase means any attempt to use the law to gain God’s approval. The law was not given to save us but to reveal that we need a savior. The law is a babysitter we endure until daddy comes home with grace.

Most of us spend our whole lives either trying to live up to expectations or by running away from them. Either way, we still feel this tug inside that what we are is not good enough and that we need to work harder to get there. We become tense, driven, compulsive, striving, stressed, impatient, dissatisfied, and discontented. The bottom line problem is that we are working for acceptance rather than from acceptance.  We imagine that some achievement out there somewhere will give us the resting place we are searching for. Until then we are restless searching for it.

Application
When I really follow Christ I am set free from expectations. I don’t need a babysitter any more; I have a Father who rejoices over me. What would happen in my life if I stopped measuring my days in terms of either “getting there” or “slipping away” and rested in the acceptance of God that I am “already there”. My ministry would be marked with security, grace, kindness, patience, endurance with joy and more. Everything changes when we work from acceptance rather than for acceptance. God has no expectations for me when it comes to receiving his love. Sure there is potential he calls me to develop, but the first order question is already solved: I am loved. Now I must work from the security of that. Maybe the reason I’ve been allowed to live up to expectations so long is to bring me to this point of releasing them into the acceptance of the Lord.

Prayer
Father, it is a lightheaded feeling to stand in you presence without expectations. There is constantly a sense that we should be doing something or doing more to please you, yet your smile and emanating love tell me that all of that is a waste of time. You simply want me to be with you, just as the disciples were with Jesus. I accept your acceptance. That is the core of faith. Today, I chose to work from that. Amen.

Scripture
“And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself. “ Acts 20:32

Observation
There were sniffles and Kleenex around the room as Pastor Paul read out his resignation letter to the elders. They had been through so much together and now he was saying goodbye for good. They would never see his face again.

In that emotion drenched moment Paul laid out what had motivated his ministry over his 3 years in Ephesus. His lessons there would do any pastor good now.

Three words were behind all that Paul did.

Assignment
Empty
Generous

Assignment? To tell all about grace.
But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. I declare today that I have been faithful. Acts 20:24 & 26

Empty? To deliver every message in full so that no one who heard him was without excuse.
If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know. Acts 29:26-27

Generous? To finish empty, not coveting a cent that was not his own.
“I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:33-35

Application
This was not Paul’s resignation from ministry but his releasing of the ministry to the leaders around him. They were now responsible. Though I did not stand in that room, it is as if Paul reaches out to me across the centuries and hands this ministry over to me too: “I entrust you to God and the message of his grace.”  I am just as responsible as the elders of Ephesus to fulfill my assignment, to die empty and to be generous for the sake of the message.

Prayer
Father, thank you for Paul’s example. I pray I have many decades yet before I speak words such as he did. When I do, help me to speak as he did. Ephesus was Paul’s last and greatest ministry before Rome. In many ways he did his best work there. I ask that my future experiences in leadership will be infused with all the lessons of my past experiences in leadership so that my greatest work is yet to come. Amen.