Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat starred in a movie entitled Anna and the King. In it, a young Englishwoman contracts with the King of Siam (now Thailand) to teach English to his many children and wives. She finds herself immersed in a culture and religion very different from her own. Struggling to find a balance between accepting and challenging practices she finds immoral, she speaks out for those she feels are being mistreated.
Thousands of years earlier, another young lady was also surrounded by a culture and religion completely different from her own. This is the biblical story of Esther who became queen after being drafted into the king’s harem. Palace intrigue resulted in her people being set up for legally sanctioned genocide. The fact that she had kept her Jewish heritage a secret added to the drama. She felt powerless and frightened.
Her cousin, her guardian since she was a young girl, sent her a message of challenge including these words:
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Esther 3:14 NIV.
Facing certain death if her uninvited visit to the king was not accepted, she, her retinue, her family, and the entire Jewish community fasted and prayed for three days. She entered the king’s throne room and was enthusiastically received by the king! After inviting the king to several banquets in his honor, she finally begged the king for the lives of her people.
Both of these stories caused change, resulting in improved human and civil rights. Both featured a person with very limited, very carefully delineated authority. Both chose to act and to speak in the face of great personal risk.
Each one of us face challenges, situations where people around us are hurting and need help. This is certainly true in healthcare as hospitals across the country reel from the impact of drastic cuts in reimbursement. In my own hospital, our struggle to manage expenses has resulted in the loss of work family members.
I speak especially to coworkers and to fellow leaders today. There are two take away elements to these stories that could apply to you and to me. First, are you willing to speak, to act, to lead in a way that protects and cares for those lost work family members? Second, when you wish you were working and leading in a calm and unruffled place, remember that you may very well be called to a challenging experience “for such a time as this”.