It's not about me! Esther 2

Read Esther 2.

So some time has passed since King Xerxes had his party and disposed of Queen Vashti. More than likely he had been off battling in Greece (history tells us he was defeated in battle around this time) and was now home and longing for his queen.
How is a new queen selected?


Who is Mordecai?


Our main character, Esther, is introduced. What do we learn about her?





What year of King Xerxes reign is Esther selected as queen?


Look back at 1:3. What year of King Xerxes reign is the party where Vashti is disposed of as queen?

Easy math: How many years have passed then?

Where was Mordecai when he overheard the plot to assassinate the king?

Who did he report it to?


Mordecai seems to be a guy who realizes “It’s not all about me!” The first spot he demonstrates this is in verse 7 where he takes Esther in as his own daughter. This isn’t just babysitting on occasion. This is putting aside his thoughts for how his life would be and taking in his cousin to raise as his own. That’s a long term commitment! It can be tough to get enough volunteers to commit to a week of VBS or to even giving up a week to come on this trip and here Mordecai makes a commitment to raise his cousin.
Right now you’re not in a situation where you would have to make a commitment to raise a kid, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other lifelong commitments you could/should make.
Have you ever come to the point where you realized “It’s not all about me!” and given your life to Christ? Yes or No? Hopefully you all circled yes for that and if not, put this down and go find a leader to talk to about that right now! But beyond giving your life to Christ and knowing that you’ll be in heaven one day, have you really committed your life to Him long-term?

At some point in high school, I realized that although I had gotten saved when I was a kid that I didn’t really do anything about it. I knew I was going to heaven and just kind of did whatever  I wanted. Nothing real crazy, but I didn’t really live out the things I learned at church. In order to be committed to Christ long-term, there should be fruit (evidence of Him) in my life. I should be reading my Bible daily, praying constantly, attending church regularly, serving and constantly applying the things I learn to be more and more like Christ. Why? Because it’s not all about me. It’s all about Him!
So again, have you really committed your life to Him long-term? Why or why not?




The second time where Mordecai shows he knows “It’s not all about me!” is when he stops the attempted assassination. Mordecai could have ignored what he heard and been fine. It wasn’t his responsibility to protect the king. However, it was the right thing to do and so he reported it regardless of the consequences it had. 
Sometimes we just ignore things because they don’t make an impact on us one way or the other. You see trash on the ground, but walk by cause you didn’t drop it. You hear a kid getting picked on, but just watch and do nothing. You see food on Pastor Rob’s face before he’s about to preach, but don’t mention it. There is definitely a right thing to do in each of these scenarios if you realize it’s not all about you, and put the needs of others above your own. 
James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Write about a time that you ignored something because it didn’t really affect you.


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In August, we spent a week at Word of Life in New York doing some work projects. These are devotionals on the book of Esther and the theme "It's not about me!"

jeep knees

Eating sugar cane in the DR

In 2010, I went to the Philippines; it was an awesome trip. I loved getting to experience a different culture, try new food, meet lots of new people, and have some adventures (scuba diving, ziplining, riding jeepneys).

I’ll be honest, food in a different country is one of my favorite things. In Ecuador we ate popcorn with soup, avocado served with French fries and of course guinea pig. In the Philippines, we had lots of fresh tilapia, pancit and rambutans to name a few. Fresh fruits and veggies in foreign countries are always amazing! I still daydream about walking around a farm in the Dominican Republic trying all sorts of things—sugar cane, cashew fruit, cacao. In the Philippines, the mango was my favorite!

Philippine fruit: mango stein, lansones, pineapple,
 marang, rambutans, bananas and pomelo.

When I came home I looked in all sorts of grocery stores, but could not find it. Maybe two years later, I found some dried Philippine Mango; I was thrilled! I told people about it, bought it and made them try it. Another year or two later, I found fresh Philippine mango in Giant! I again told people and bought it and shared it! (One time when I was in Giant, a lady saw me picking it up and asked me about it. I probably gave her way more info than she wanted, but she ended up buying some to try.)

James 2:14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 

Having faith in God saves us. We’ve talked about this a lot throughout our devos on Galatians. Our salvation is about putting our faith and trust in God, not about circumcision or any other work we do. In Ephesians, Paul says “by grace you have been saved by faith, not of works.”

In Luke 23:39-43, we are told about the thief on the cross repenting and believing while hanging there. He wasn’t baptized or able to do any works, but Jesus told him that he’d be in Paradise that day.

So what’s all this James is saying about faith without works being dead??

Philippine Mango!!

It’s like the mango – I know it’s good and want others to enjoy it. So I tell them about it, give them some to try. I’m not going to keep it to myself.

If you have experienced God’s grace and have been saved, you’re not going to keep that to yourself. You’ll want to tell others about it… do things to help them experience the same thing you have experienced.

So God doesn’t require us to do works to be saved, but our salvation and love for Him should compel us to want to do works. In John 14:15, Jesus says “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”

Answer This:

1) Have you put your faith in Christ and been saved by God’s grace? If so, write the story of when/how here. If not, talk to your parents or a youth leader about how to do so!

2) So also ____________ by itself, if it does not have ____________, is ____________.

3) Do you talk about your faith? Do others see your works and therefore your faith?

4) Take some time to journal about this passage.

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Written  for the youth group devotional book.