First Thanks

10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.  Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, 11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow.  Esther 5

Haman is on cloud nine.  He's feeling awesome and powerful.  The queen has invited him and the king to be her private guests at a feast, not once, but twice!  This isn't a small dinner party, this is a feast, with only three people invited.  I can only imagine the delicious-ness of the food in front of all of them.

Back to the subject: Haman has wonderful news to boast about, and who does he turn to first?  His friends and his wife.  Therein lies the problem.  When things take a turn for the worse, people will often say that they turn to God first, which may very well be true, I'm not here to judge or point that out if they don't - but what about when things are turning for the good?  The really, really good?  Do you say thanks to God first or do you run to share the good news with your friends and family?

It doesn't have to be much.  When I receive good news, I'll sometimes only throw up a quick thank you prayer to God, and then run to my family.  Later, when I'm doing my devotional and prayer time, I'll then spend more time thanking him.  For example, earlier this year I won an award that meant a lot to me.  The first thing I did when I found out was throw up a quick prayer, "Thank you God letting me have a positive impact in these young lives."  And then I immediately began calling family and friends to share in the good news.  The next time I did my devotions, I spent more time thanking and praising God for what had happened.

That's the focus - Thanking God.  It's first and foremost.  Haman didn't thank whomever he served, so his own selfish desires took root.  He wanted to boast to those he knew, not thank anyone for the honor.  Who do you reach to first when things go positively?