Mordecai’s Greatness

If you read through the book of Esther, you will see that Mordecai is a true hero of the Jewish race.  His brave actions saved the Jews from one of the very first attempts at genocide known to man.

The very last verse of the book says that Mordecai was held in high esteem with the Jews, and of course this high esteem was well earned and well deserved.  But, let’s don’t overlook the reason Mordecai was held in high esteem.  Let’s not forget that Mordecai wasn’t great because he was held in high esteem but that Mordecai was held in high esteem because he was great.  There is a big difference.

We see Mordecai’s greatness from early on in the book.  He decided to care for his orphan niece, Esther, who just happened to become queen a few years later.  Mordecai didn’t have to make this choice, he could have left it for someone else to do.  Mordecai saved the king’s life by unravelling a plot to kill the king.  He could have remained silent on the matter; the truth is that he didn’t really ‘have a dog in that hunt’ but he chose to be great by doing the right thing.

I’m sure there are many, many other choices Mordicai made over the years that added to his greatness.  These were choices that we will never know about, but they were important choices because they helped develop his character.  His character made him great and then his greatness made him to be held in high esteem.

We all make small choices every day.  We all have the chance to do the right thing or the wrong thing in these small choices.  It’s these decisions, made every day, that build up our character.  It’s these things, that no one will ever see, that will make us great and will make us to be highly esteemed.  Let’s all focus on these small choices and choose to do the right thing every day.

I’ve heard it said that a good manager does things right, but a good leader does the right things.  If we choose to lead, we need to choose to do the right things along the way.