The Front Door
Ed Latimore laid his finger on a poignant and powerful truth when he observed "that the heaviest weight in the gym is the front door.” It is not the actual difficulty of exercising that prevents so many people from doing so—although that difficulty should not be dismissed, disregarded, nor denied.
Far more challenging than doing crunches is the challenge of being consistent. Far more painful than doing push-ups is the pain of embarrassment that you experience when you look in the mirror and wince at what you see. Far more tiresome than doing the treadmill is how tired you can get thinking about how tired you are going to be after you walk or run on the treadmill! But there is an obstacle more dangerous and deadly than all of these: it is the challenge of getting started!
One of the fascinating aspects of aviation is that on a percentage basis, planes consume more fuel per minute during the “lift-off” phase than during any other segment of a flight. It takes more fuel to take off than it does to either maintain a cruising altitude or to land. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to suggest that the same principle holds true in every day life. “Taking off” is where the difficulty lies. “Getting started” is what derails our dreams.
A wise man once said that the richest place in the world is the cemetery, because it is there that you will find the “books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, and all of the plans that never got off the drawing board.” It doesn’t matter whether you are trying to start a new habit, or a new relationship, or a new job, or a new career, or trying to start over. Getting started is a real challenge.
I want to introduce you to a woman who experienced first hand how difficult it is to make a new start. Her name was Vashti and she was married to an ancient King who presided over a territory that stretched across nearly 3000 miles, and included a diverse array of people and almost unfathomable wealth.
Her story is told in the first two chapters of the book of Esther. Vashti made a choice that not many other people in her position would have made. Her husband decided to have a party. And not just any party. The celebration lasted for six months! To end the festivities, the King held a banquet in his own honor for an additional seven days. At the height of the revelry, as the King was stumbling around in a drunken stupor, he had a bad idea and made an indecent proposal. Esther 1:10-12 describes the scene:
’’On the seventh day of the feast, when King Xerxes was in high spirits because of the wine, he told the seven eunuchs who attended him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas— to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown on her head. He wanted the nobles and all the other men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman. But when they conveyed the king’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. This made the king furious, and he burned with anger.”
Vashti’s decision was costly. She was removed as Queen, and the scripture never speaks of her again. If anyone was mistreated, Vashti was. If anyone deserved better, Vashti did. If anyone was a model of virtue, Vashti was. I do not know what happened to Vashti. But I do know that she had to start over. I’m sure it wasn’t easy. And I am unsure if she succeeded.
The silence of scripture concerning her fate is ominous. It is also instructive. As is the case with all scripture, the issue is not only how Vashti responded—that’s an exegetical problem. The issue is how you and I will respond—and that’s a practical problem. The silence of what happened to her is actually an opportunity to consider what will happen to you. As VIctor Frankl put it, “we need to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead start thinking of ourselves as those who are being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
If starting or starting over is the task that life has set before us, the only way to answer what Vashti should have done is to answer with your own life. In other words, fill the silence of the scripture with the sound of your actions.
Don’t be afraid to start—even if you have to start over. Remember that Berry Gordy started Motown Records with an $800 loan from his family. Remember that Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com in his garage. Remember that Mark Zuckenberg started Facebook in his college dormitory. And finally, never forget that Christianity started in a cemetery!
