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Blog 8 August 16, 2020 to August 23, 2020
The Power of One
Many centuries ago, a woman almost underestimated the power of one. She thought things were too far gone. She thought there was nothing she could do before all the Jews would be massacred and a nation destroyed.
The woman’s name was Esther, the Jewish wife of the Persian king. He was the one about to be tricked into making a disastrous decision and exterminate all the Jews. Esther was adopted and her father realized she alone held the key to her husband’s heart. Her adoptive father appealed to her conscience and stated to her” if you remain silent at this time, you and your father’s house will perish … (Esther 4:14)
Esther listened to her father’s request. He got her attention with his final line “and who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). That statement convinced her to implement her plan. Esther broke long standing protocol, marched into the king’s throne room and spoke her mind to the king. Esther and Esther alone rescued the Jews from being killed. One woman, one voice saved an entire nation. One is enough and one is significant. She was willing to stand in the gap, to get personally involved, to the point of great sacrifice. Esther stated in 4:16 “if I perish, I perish”. Esther never thought, “someone else should be doing this, not me”. She did not ignore the need because of the risk. Sacrifice is the stuff people who change lives and make a difference are made.
How much difference can one person make? Let’s take a look at the short poem by Edward Everett Hale, an American author in the late 19th century:
“I am only one but still I am one;
I cannot do everything but still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do”.
Let’s put aside all excuses and ask yourself. What should I be doing? What should we be doing? The truth is each one of us can touch a few lives. It is wrong to do nothing and stop helping anyone because we cannot help everyone.