"What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to the law? ...so that it will not be altered, that Vashti come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she." (Est.1:15 & 19).
INTRODUCTION:
The refusal of Queen Vashti to appear before the king in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, was considered to be an error on her part. It was so much of a monumental error that cost her the throne. It was an effrontery unheard of, in the palace. The king would not allow it slide. Ironically, it was one of her closest and the most trusted maids, Memucan, that lent stronger agitation to the voice of the king, for her removal and ultimate replacement.
WHAT IS AN ERROR?
Simply put, an error is a deviation from the norm. It is a slight but expensive derailment from accuracy or exactness. Be it intentional or otherwise, the consequences and aftermath of error could be grievous and irredemable. A good example is that of Queen Vashti, in our text above. Error could be expensive, costly, damaging, life threatening if not worse. Errors could displace and cause rifts among families and loved ones and put them at logger heads, especially where the outcome of such error leads to imprisonment or outright death. Such an error might probably be borne out of anger or retaliation, say when a married couple or more parties, out of emotional outbursts could not control their temper over internal squabbles. When the full weight of law swings in, justice prevails.
ERRORS IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD:
The subject of error is broad and cuts across practically all human endeavors. In its various occurences, error happens almost on a daily basis, in different spheres of life, in various professions and disciplines. Regardless of the magnitude of such error, at least two parties are involved: the erroneous and the victim(s). In the medical profession, for example, any slight error from the medical personnel could be all that would mar the life of the patient for life. A little infraction on the part of a careless driver on the highway endangers the lives of other unwary drivers. It takes a split second to incapacitate an innocent driver, or send such to the great beyond. Few years back, i was a victim of such, when a driver driving on high speed trying to escape with a stolen truck, ran into me with no way of escape for me, right on my lane. It was the mercy of God that made me come out of the fatal accident, unscatched!
A slight error, intended or implied, in an organization's Balance Sheet could affect the whole accounting process. Such, on the longrun, may not be healthy for the whole financial planning of an organization. If not mitigated on time, it may portray such organization as insolvent. Error and its consequnces, as said above, by extension find their place even in the game of football. In a tensed football match for example, a player, under pressure and in an attempt at making sure his team carries the day, might commit a costly error that could lead to his team's loss. This is a common error in football when a player scores against his celebrated team. This is what is called "own-goal". Truth is that there is nothing more painful in the loss of a match for a football team, when a player scores against his team ! It does not matter the skills and how much the player is celebrated globally, that is a stigma that does not wash away easily, if at all it does, more so if the said match has so much at stake.
Sidebar:
...we shoud be very mindful of the fact that an error commited by someone may put us at the receiving end.
In the spirit realm, error is a tactic from the pit of hell to allow the devil an inroad to cash in on a situation or care free- life .
PENALTIES & CONSEQUENCES OF ERROR:
For each error commited, there are several penalties and consequences that the erring individual MUST concede . Such punitive measures could be pronounced by a judicial body or corporate organization. The consequences could be grievous depending on the gravity of the error; ranging from complete licence forfeiture, suspension (of the indicted), by the concerned professional body or organization, jail term, or even death sentence. In some cases, it may attract monetary punishment.
Emotional penalty of an error is when an individaul takes the law into his hands to address the pain the error has caused him emotionally or psychologically, (taking it too personal). A good example here was when a football player (Andre Escoba) scored an own-goal against his country- Columbia, in the 1994 FIFA World Cup competion against the host country, United States. Five days after arriving his country, from the ill-fated match, Andre Escoba, was shot dead by a football fanatic who could not hold the pains of the elimination occasioned by the own-goal. The victim did not survive it. The action of this fanatic fan in itself called for another punitive measure.
Invariably, since we live in a world that is not "error-free", regardless of the various preventive measures put in place, it is then NOT enough to say you and i need to be extra careful not to commit error. Rather, we shoud be very mindful of the fact that an error commited by someone may put us at the receiving end. This is how best we can place the balance.
A NON-LIFE THREATENING PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
In my few years in the banking industry, i was a victim of check cashing-error, to fraudulent customers, on a number of occasions simply because i lost sight of following some procedures and guidelines the bank outlined for us. It was not funny at all... just one of many cases of a victim of errors that are not life-threatening. However, the accumulated financial loss to the bank on the part of other employees with similar situations with me was not only monumental, unfortunately it could not be recouped.... Should such trend continued unabated, then the bank might be heading for bankruptcy. This speaks to us as employers and business owners to really pray against such errors that could lead to business collapse...
Prayers:
LORD, make my life and decisions error-free going forward.
LORD, let my speech always be with grace and error-free.
LORD, help me to overcome errors that will make a mess of my destiny and other peoples' destinies.
LORD, help me and my household NOT to be victims of someone else's error.
LORD, by Your mercy, i am delivered from the consequences of all errors of my past decisions and the ones made on my behalf by my forefathers.
HOW ARE WE AFFECTED?
Our own world is not error-free. We live it, breathe it and feel it practically on a daily basis. And one way or the other, we stand the risk of being victims of someone else's error, or being the erroneous ourselves. Driving this truth home more closely will draw our attention to the fact that we are all one way or the other, have to pray more, not to be caught on either side of the divide in any erroneous situations. Are you a licenced / trained professional ( in any discipline), a political leader, spiritual leader, chief executive officer of corporation(s), legal practitioner, medicine, engineering, pharmacy, building & construction, event planner, sports, business, royalty, academia, and so on and so forth? Then, we have to take cognizance of the fact that in all we do, and in our daily interactions and activities, error is not lacking , hence the scripture says, "redeeming the time because the days are evil" (Eph.5:16).
CONCLUSION:
In an event error is committed, the law most times will be applied to take its full course. Queen Vashti, in her exalted royalty became a victim of her decision, in this wise. Obviously, she did not see it coming in that fashion. Beloved, as we enter 2025, it is important that we look inwards and see how we can prayerfully, live error-free life and make error-free decisions and judgements, as well. In the spirit realm, error is a tactic from the pit of hell to allow the devil an inroad to cash in on a situation or care free- life . Ahab wished he did not commit the error of dismissing the divine warning as given by Micah the son of Imlah in the battle against Syria, where he met his waterloo, "now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor." (1 Kgs.22:34). Is God talking to us on certain things we are not doing right that could be prone to error? It will be appropriate to take heed so as to avoid falling into the error of disobedience. May God help us. Amen.
Happy New Year !
© January 2025
Being A Monthly Scripture Bulletin From The Desk Of
Olusegun A Emosu (The Blessed, The Chosen, & The Preferred)
The Redeemed Christian Church Of God,
Rehoboth Parish,
2244, Panola Rd, Suite 2, (3 D Complex),
Lithonia GA 30058
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