Time Out Tuesday! (Yeah it's been a while.)
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.
Esther 1:10-12 NKJV
In the book of Esther, we tend to focus on the story of one person- Esther. I noticed tonight that Queen Vashti is an unsung role model. She only gets a small part in the whole book, but makes a big stand. King Ahasuerus was quite the partier and loved his wine. When he was quite drunk, he demanded his wife come into his party full of dudes and parade her self around because she was pretty..🙄. Queen Vashti, full of dignity and confidence, refused. His response to her integrity and modesty was to basically divorce her, strip her title of Queen, and kick her out of the palace.
The Christian walk is not always easy. We will encounter situations where we might want to compromise, stretch the truth, show off a little, but that's not who we're called to be. Yes, Queen Vashti lost her prowess, but she kept something far more valuable- her integrity. Matthew 6:19-20 says to store up treasures in heaven where nothing can ruin or damage them. Value the eternal more than the here and now. It may cause sacrifice, to lose something you may really want; but in the end, the reward from God is much more satisfying. What is right isn't always easy, but it's always worth it. Value yourself and your relationship with God uncompromisingly.