photo #8126301

"ENVY: AN EXTREME EVIL" "Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." (Esther 5:13)These are the words of that nasty individual named Haman. A quick look at this guy Haman in Esther, and you'll run away shaking your head in disgust. This fella's life just oozes with pride and his character must have even made God sick to His stomach.In the book of Esther, our Lord opens up His Photo Album and gives us 5 different pictures of this wicked ole Haman. I see him as Haughty, Hateful, Honored, Humbled, and finally Hanged.In this 5th chapter, Haman, with king Ahasuerus, are both invited to Queen Esther's banquet. Haman is busting at the seams with pride, but his mood changes when he sees Mordecai, who doesn't bow to or give a hoot about him. Haman's name means "Celebrated or Magnificent." But the only celebration that he desired to observe was in his selfish magnificent of who he thought he was, what he thought he had, and what the many who served under him didn't have.But Haman met his waterloo when he tried to get the best of that God-fearing man by the name of Mordecai. Mordecai wasn't going to honor or worship anyone but his God, and He certainly wasn't going to bow down and pay homage to this poor excuse of the chief associate under king Ahasuerus.Haman hated the Jews, and when he found out that Mordecai was a Jew and wouldn't so much as salute Haman when that dimwit came strutting by, why that rascal hated him even more. Esther 3:5 says, "And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath."Now, the way I see wrath in the Scriptures, be it man's wrath or God's wrath, is WRATH IS ANGER IN A BOILING POT WITH THE LID BLOWN CLEAN OFF. And one day, this angry, hateful, unbelieving world will experience the wrath of God to the nth degree (Revelation 6:16-17). We don't hear that truth preached much anymore, do we?Well, that last paragraph comes free of charge, so let's get back to the story. At one point, it looked as though Haman was on top of the world and had everything going his way when he mistakenly thought he was going to be the king's "man of the hour" (Esther 6:6-10). But hold your horses there bub, for when Haman heard that Mordecai was the one to be honored by the king, he allowed the envy and hatred in his heart rule his life until it finally put the rope around his neck (Esther 7:10. And folks, envy and jealousy will do just that to you and me. Envy gives birth to all sorts of wickedness while choking us in the devil's noose. James 3:16 reminds us, "For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work."Friends, maybe at one point in your life you were somewhat like that foolish Haman, but be it you or me, none of us should ever desire to dwell there anymore; for we have been made anew by the new birth from above.