You are too much and not enough. That’s if we believe what we are told. Adverts, blogs, social media, and magazines; the messages come through thick and fast. You are too fat. Too thin. Too loud. Too quiet. Too pale. Too dark. Your skirt is too short. Your morals too old fashioned. You are too confident. Too shy. You are not slim enough. Not clever enough. Not healthy enough. Not strong enough. Not demure enough. And not fit enough. It’s constant. We are told how to act, what to wear, and what our bodies should like look.
None of this is new. Rewind the clock a couple of thousand years and in the book of Esther we meet King Xerxes. We are briefly introduced to Queen Vashti. She is banished from the kingdom and loses her royal status, all because she refused to attend the King’s banquet so he could show off her beauty. A search ensues for a woman worthy of replacing Vashti. Enter Esther, a beautiful, young, Jewish woman. Esther’s beauty earns her a place at the King’s side, as the new Queen. The story does not end there.
The King’s evil adviser, Haman, was plotting to kill the Jews. Despite the risk of death, Esther did everything she could to win the King’s favour.
When the time was right Esther approached the King with her request that he intervene and save the Jews. Esther’s planning paid off. She could have kept quiet, but instead she risked everything, including her very life, to save her people. Initially judged by her outward appearance, Esther is remembered for her inner strength and wisdom.
All too often it can feel like things haven’t changed that much. Women are still judged on their appearance. Not only judged and objectified, but living in a culture with gender pay inequality and where men feel entitled to help themselves to a woman’s body. But here’s the thing, there is hope. The culture will change and we each get to be part of it. We may not be queens like Esther, but each one of us is in a unique position of influence; we can use our wisdom and our voice to speak up and speak out, so that women are not judged on their outward appearance, but their inward character.
It will take time for the culture to shift, but it will. But in the mean-time know this: you are never too much and always enough. God made you and He doesn’t make mistakes. Go be an Esther, for you born for such a time as this.
Hannah King
11 May 2018