“What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” (Est. 6:3)
Expanded Passage: Esther 6:3-10
When it comes to the most decorated athletes in the history of the University of North Carolina, the first name that may come to mind is Michael Jordan. However, some would argue it is former soccer player Mia Hamm. In her four years, the team only lost one game. They won four national titles, and she became a three-time All-American. Once she graduated, she was a part of two teams that won the World Cup and Olympic gold medals. After her playing days were complete, she was voted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. While talented, her college coach shares a story to explain her greatness. One morning on the way to work he passed a park and noticed Mia dripping with sweat as she went through punishing fitness exercises alone. In response he wrote her a note: “The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when nobody else is watching.”
Yesterday we learned that righteousness is defined by doing what is right. Today we are adding to that definition. Righteousness is doing what is right whether it is seen or unseen. Up until King Xerxes read the record of events, Mordecai’s actions had gone relatively unnoticed. We need a church full of people who are willing to do what is right whether it is seen or unseen.
Ponder how you can do right without drawing attention to yourself.
T. J. Albertson has been pastoring for twenty-one years, the last nineteen in interchurch service. He loves teaching the whole Bible and its relevance to life.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
