Decision

I have seen people who are usually wise and discerning making some of the dumbest decisions when they were in different circumstances. The circumstances can range from incredibly angry to stupid drunk and everything in between. Decisions need to made with good information.

Decisions often need to be made in a timely manner.

Decisions need to be made when completely sober, alert and attentive.

King Xerxes, King of Persia threw a 6-month celebration showing off the wealth and the advancement of his kingdom. He closed out the celebration with a 7 day banquet/feast and had an open bar. Anyone could drink as much as they wanted, including the king. (He could drink like this anytime – after all he is the king!) The story picks up with the king being inebriated and making a decision. Check this out…

10 On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him – Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas – 11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger. (Esther 1:10-12 NIV)

This simple explanation of Queen Vashti doesn’t give out a lot of information about her. I tend to make some assumptions at this point. Was the king asking her to come before him partially clothed or not clothed at all? Was she really shy? It’s hard to understand her position in this, but I suspect it has something to do with the king being in “high spirits from wine”. The king then seeks council (again while he’s still “under the influence”) from his advisors. We don’t know if they were also drinking, but they gave him counsel on how to remove the queen from her position and replace her. I end up feeling empathy for Queen Vashti even though I know nothing about her, it feels as if she was disrespected by the king and then when she “pushed back”, she was “pushed out”. I think that the presence of alcohol has a lot to do with this incident. Brad Paisley recorded a song called “Alcohol” and it carries some truth for sure when the substance is over used or even abused. The lyrics to the song are here.

I think I’d be wise to have a healthy respect for alcohol and it ability to alter perception. I could give case after case where peoples lives where changed by it’s presence – and not in a good way. I’m not advocating abstinence, but I am certainly advocating incredible restraint and caution. In the book of Esther, the Lord is about to do something amazing through this crazy story of a drunken king. The Lord makes beauty come from ashes all the time, I’m trying hard not to create my own “ashes”.

Pressing On!

Dwayne