Entitlement

So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? (Esther 6:6)

I am finding it strange that someone could be so certain.

Until I realise that it is a very common problem among many ‘servants’ of God.

But something struck me so hard as I was reading this.

And that is the extent to which Haman was willing to go to prove his favoured position.

Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: (Esther 6:8)

Imagine wanting to look just like the king!

I am certain that had the king been wanting to honour Haman, that single demand could have sealed his fate as a seditionist.

‘Remove your crown and place it on my head’, is what Haman was in effect telling the king.

You see, the crown is the symbol of the king’s authority.

Meaning that removing it and placing it on Haman’s head could have been openly stating that he was equal, if not greater than the king since it was the king who had placed it on him.

His only salvation for him at that time was that the king was thinking about someone who had saved his life, someone who actually deserved having that crown on his head as he had saved it.

And that crown on Mordecai’s head was the reason Haman and his wife and friends were certain of his downfall.

And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered. And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him. (Esther 6: 12, 13)

That crown on Mordecai’s head meant that Mordecai was way higher than Haman in the kingdom and that anything he had done or would do would have to bow to that crown.

Haman had in his self importance promoted his enemy way higher that he was. He had made him his bridge to the king by seeking to rise so close to the king.

Remember the evil one?

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:14)

That was our Haman.

Some translations say it was the crest on the king’s horse.

That is saying the same thing since the only time it would be placed on the horse’s head would be when the king was its rider.

When I worked in the media, I was at one time around the president quite some and that is from where I am saying this.

The only time the president’s limousine had his standard would be the times he was riding it.

Any other time it was had to be removed.

And it is the same with government senior officers who require having flags on their vehicles.

Even military generals must have their stars covered any time they are not on those official vehicles.

It means that Haman was asking the king to hand over his throne for a moment.

How could he have been so foolish?

But is that not how self-interest always operates by locking everybody and everything (even logic) out of that desire?

It actually closes one’s eyes to reality; blocks one’s eyes to see beyond the present.

It makes one unable to assess reality.

Esau demonstrated the same thing when he sold his birthright.

The second problem with entitlement is the clear absence of foresight.

Haman thought he was the apple of the king’s eye.

He thought that nobody else could have caught the king’s eye; nobody but him was worth any such favour from the king.

Yet there were one hundred and seventy provinces with enough faithful servants for him to be fixated on one man.

The other problem is that it easily overlooks the past and by doing it repeats it.

Vashti was the king’s favourite shortly before then but lost her position.

It might even be possible that he was a beneficiary of that fallout.

Another problem with entitlement is the paucity of gratitude.

I deserve overtakes this is a favour.

Remember the ten lepers Jesus healed?

The Jews took the healing as their right. It is the stranger who was grateful.

Haman was not content with his position. He was not content with having people bowing before him.

No wonder a single person not bowing to him (and he knew of it when he was told) completely changed his life’s trajectory.

From that moment, the only thing he could see was this one man who refused to recognise him.

He dropped everything to deal with him and his ilk.

That became his waterloo.

That because he lost sight of his service to the king to concentrate on Mordecai.

He even used the king’s property to erect gallows to hang this upstart.

In short, he lost himself to demonstrate to everybody who he was.

No wonder it turned out so tragically for him.

Can we apply this lesson on ourselves?