Esther 3

My, my. What a startling portrait of insecurity in the third chapter of Esther: "When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes." (vs 5-6)

I have known a few insecure people in my lifetime (and been one myself from time to time). Dealing with insecure people is very difficult. They think they know everything; thus, they are closed to new ideas and experiences. Furthermore, their lack of openness causes them to be very narrow in their thinking, and—while they won’t hear a word about anything from anyone else—they often try to force others to think and act like they do.

Haman was a very insecure person. The king had commanded that people should show him honor and respect by bowing down to him. First of all, can you imagine knowing that people are "respecting" you because somebody else commanded them to? That would drive me crazy! But not Haman. Not only did he like it, he was outraged when Mordecai refused to follow orders.

Insecurity can’t handle opposition of any sort. It usually can’t even handle innocent questions, let alone open resistance. And it can’t deal with disagreement in an appropriate and constructive way. If Haman had been a secure person who felt threatened by Mordecai’s refusal to acknowledge his position, he would have taken up the issue with Mordecai personally. Instead, he launched a plan to annihilate the entire Jewish race. Talk about overreacting!

It’s very interesting to see the kind of person Haman was, because it’s the exact opposite of what God is like. He is a secure person, not an insecure person. He is not threatened by questions, opposition, even open resistance. When people oppose Him, He doesn’t go on the warpath. He doesn’t look for ways to destroy His enemies. Instead, He deals with the person or persons directly, trying repeatedly to solve the problem—not make it worse because His ego can’t handle a challenge.

Now, don’t confuse this with the idea that God never disciplines His children. If His creatures are headed down the wrong path, He will intervene in order to keep them from ultimate self-destruction. Sometimes these interventions look and sound harsh, but God is trying to protect us in an ultimate sense. It is in the ultimate sense, then, that God is not insecure. If His children ultimately make the choice to rebel and leave Him, He allows them to do that without coercion or threats. His ego can handle challenges all day long. He is totally secure!