To kneel or not to kneel - Kelley Barton

"After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor." - Esther 3:1-2

To kneel or not to kneel, that is the question. At least the one posed to us with this new series on Esther.

Colin Kaepernick came to mind.

He kneeled. But he was not kneeling before Empire. His physical kneeling was a way to “not kneel” to Empire. I empathized with him, even though I knew plenty of people who had a very negative reaction to his act of resistance.

I now realize that I have been resisting Empire, and choosing not to kneel, whenever I learn of an action, mindset, word or phrase that causes a group of people to feel “less than”. I am quite willing to alter my thinking or language if it will avoid causing those feelings in others. I occasionally have been teased, and scoffed at, when friends or family feel I am overreacting.

 “Just get over it. Just kneel, for crying out loud.”

But I resist. I can’t kneel.

Today I asked myself, what makes me respond as I do when others don’t? It certainly wasn’t my upbringing, or the culture around me.

I can only attribute it to the teachings of Jesus that have been seeping into my mind and heart over the decades.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” Mark 12:31 (NIV)

“As I have loved you, so must you love one another.” John 13:34 (NIV)

And Paul’s words.

“No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.” 1 Cor 10:24 (NIV)

Just because something doesn’t directly affect me, or cause me pain, doesn’t mean I should ignore it. Because if I ignore it, my heart tells me I am not loving others. It’s as simple as that for me.

I want to stand with those who feel “less than” and help them to feel “more than”. And if that means I don’t kneel, then so be it.