As the book of Esther opens its account, we are introduced to a queen who lost her crown due to indiscretion. King Ahasuerus whose kingdom spanned 127 provinces made a lavish banquet for his subjects. In his ecstatic moment, he wanted to show off his wife’s beauty to the people, so he sent for her. The queen refused to honour the invitation in public glare. That despite to the king effectively ended her reign as queen as another person was recommended to take her place. Her indiscretion was that she could not tell the difference between the “bedroom” and the “boardroom”. The rules governing both are different.

The Scripture says a little leaven has the power to leaven the whole lump. Similarly, it is the little foxes that spoil the vine. We must constantly work at removing anything that can disconnect us from divine reward.

We have another show of indiscretion by Michal. She disdained the king’s ecstatic mood as he led the procession bringing back the ark of God to Jerusalem. She mistook selfless worship for debauchery.  Had she contained her disdain within her she could have fared better. She threw caution to the wind as she tongue-lashed the king when he got home. Michal had played a significant role in preserving the life of David. Ordinarily, she should be rewarded for that act of kindness. It was her unguarded utterance to the king that cut her off from the blessing. How we need to pray that we do not in any way short-circuit ourselves through folly. The Scripture says a little leaven has the power to leaven the whole lump. Similarly, it is the little foxes that spoil the vine. We must constantly work at removing anything that can disconnect us from divine reward.