at all costs. It is bad enough if you’ve done something wrong and

someone won’t forgive you or let you make things right.  But if you’ve

done nothing wrong and in fact are hated for simply doing what is right

before the Lord, it can feel like a deeper betrayal.  We all believe

that doing the right thing should pay off, and when it doesn’t, it

hurts. Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, becomes the object of hatred by a

powerful man, and that hatred spills over to all the Jews.  What can we

learn from this story about dealing with people who don’t like us?