Me, Vashti and Esther

"And if I perish, I perish." - Esther 4:16

I always knew I was royalty. No, my parents never called me little pet names like "Princess" or allowed me to put on airs like I was above everyone else. But, they constantly told me this story about the King of Kings, and how, by being His child, I could inherit everything He has to offer. So, long before I understood what it meant, I knew that I was meant to be powerful, strong, a leader, and an example.

But sometimes it's hard to know what true royalty is. Being a Proverbs 31 woman takes a lot of work. How am I to be pure and pious, without silencing the diva, the intellectual, the ME that I am? 

Well, I looked in my Bible, and read about two queens who mostly followed the rules, but didn't take no stuff!!! 

The first one I looked at was Vashti. Vashti was very beautiful and the king was proud of that. One day, the king had a party. He got drunk with his friends, and he decided he wanted to show off his beautiful wife. So he sent for her. Vashti refused to come. 

Now, this is in the first chapter of the book of Esther, and we don't have a lot of history on Vashti, what she believed, even where she originally came from. But, based on how angry and surprised the king appeared to be at her refusal of his request, I'm going to make the assumption that up to that point, she was a pretty good, obedient wife. Because, really, when you think about it, that's a pretty small request. If she was a troublemaker and continuously bullheaded, I don't see this incident being such a big deal. On the other hand, she did reject him in front of all his boys, so I guess that would be a bit of a blow to his ego and manhood, status as king, whatever. But, I digress.

At any rate, the king got mad, listened to his friends, and kicked Vashti to the curb. Then he made a decree that all women are to be obedient to their husbands (gag me!). 

But I admire Vashti. Here's a woman who looked at a situation, realized that nothing could come out of it but her own degradation and refused to play ball. She was not going to parade around a room full of drunken men so that they could whistle, cat-call, and attempt to grab some feels. She knew that the king had the power to remove her from her position if she didn't play along, but her own self-respect was more important to her. We can liken this situation to today, where women still feel pressured to use their good looks to advance in their careers, education, and even in ministry in some cases. Refusing to take yourself to that level may sometimes result in having to sacrifice some material things, but you'll always be proud of yourself for protecting yourself.

Then, we have Esther. Just like Vashti, she was beautiful (the king clearly had a type!), and she won favor with the king over all the other young women in the land. Just like Vashti, she broke some rules to do what needed to be done. When Hamman plotted to kill her people, she went before the king, uninvited, which was an act that was punishable by death. She didn't rely only on her beauty, however. She used wit and quick thinking to reveal things to the king in a manner that was respectful and allowed him to come to realizations on his own. 

I admire Esther. She risked her life on several occasions. In that time, Jews were considered to be beneath the Persians, and she could have kept that hidden. She also didn't have to stick her neck out to save her people. But she did it. It was she who said, "If I perish, I perish." She had a mission, and she accepted it. 

Today, we often face situations where we have to make hard decisions. A lot of the time, there are burdens that fall on us that originally had nothing to do with us. Still, we have to respond and act to restore order and peace.

So, back to my original pondering. How do I access my royal status and be that leader and example? Well, first things first, both of these queens had an understanding of who they were. Vashti knew that she was above being disrespected, and Esther knew that she was divinely chosen for a purpose. 

Hear that? 
You do not have to be disrespected. You are chosen for a purpose. 

When we find ourselves seeking God, that's where we find our true selves and access our royal status. When you're praising God, don't you feel lifted? Don't you feel anchored? That's because your power is being restored to you in that moment. When you're in a constant state of prayer (you know, when you randomly break out and say "Yes, Lord!" because it bubbled up in your spirit), you'll find yourself having revelations that all of a sudden put so many things into perspective your head spins. And then you share it. You're leading someone, you're spreading wisdom. 

And that is how I can be pure, and sober, and yet vibrant and vivacious. Because God made me all of those things. He's still working on me, and I can't wait to see where He takes me. 

Be a Vashti. Be an Esther. But above all else, be YOU!