God Turns the Tables on the Proud Sample

Haman Surrounded Himself with Foolish Counselors 

In Esther 5:13, we read, "Yet all this is worth nothing to me," Haman said, "so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate". 

When Haman felt distressed, because his enormous pride was hurt, he went to his friends. 

In verse 14 we read, “Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet.”

The response of Zeresh and his friends had for Mordecai is shocking because it is so disproportionate. These so called “friends” clearly didn't have the guts to give Haman truthful advice that would actually him. Haman was rich. They said whatever they thought he would like to hear to assuage his hurt feelings and strole his ego. 

These same friends turned on him in Esther 6:13: “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him."

It is perhaps a note of irony that in Esther 5:14 they are called his friends. Their advice in 6:13 is stated as a statement of fact and does not even have a hint of friendliness about it.

Some believe that to be a friend to someone, one should never stand up to or disagree with him. But the Bible describes true friendship as when one will be honest even when it hurts. 

Proverbs 27:6 says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” 

This means that a true friend will tell you what you need to hear, even if it hurts, instead of flattering you all the time. 

In our world, friends who tell us what we want to hear are valued. People prefer friends who flatter them. They want friends who will respond to a problem about a difficult decision in their life with, “You should do what makes you happy.”

Undoubtedly, Haman did not have true friends or counselors. A true friend would have cautioned Haman and told him he was playing with fire. 

No matter how high you are or how smart you are, it is wise to surround yourseof, not with “yes men”, but with people who will give you the cold, hard truth even if it hurts.

True friends put enough trust in you to tell you openly of your faults. Do you have true friends?

Quote: “There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship”. – Thomas Aquinas

Prayer: Lord, help me to be a true friend to my friends, not telling them what they want to hear, but telling them the truth. Amen