Esther is a great example of someone who lived her faith in secret. And yet, she told when she had to. She was very scared. If the king had refused to listen to her, he could have had her killed, even though she was the queen!
Even if you’re not afraid of that, you could still face persecution if you tell. So, when should you tell? Well, Esther waited till a national crisis – all the Jews in Persia were about to be killed. The king had been tricked by the evil Haman into signing a law allowing that to happen. (Which, by the way, shows the terrible foolishness of following tradition without thinking. The king never thought about just changing the law, because laws were never changed in his kingdom. Never do something only because it’s tradition, if it goes against the Word of God.) You don’t have to wait till a huge crisis. But, you do need wisdom. You also need discernment.
First, it should be up to you, not younger siblings. Mordecai, who had raised Esther, told her not to tell anyone at first. This made sense. There was something like a beauty pageant to name a new queen after the king fired Queen Vashti. Mordecai knew how hard it was living in a strange, enemy land. His great-grandfather, Kish, had been forced to go to Babylon when the Babylonians invaded. (Est. 2:6) He had likely told her of persecution and racism against Jews in Babylon, when they refused to worship the king. And, he let Esther know that it would be much harder for the king to accept her if she were to come out and tell everyone she was Jewish right away. So, as the spiritual leader, just as Mordecai was to Esther, you should be the one to say when to tell. Of course, it’s really God’s decision. Remember, you’re a leader, but still His follower. He’s the one who chose you to shepherd, because He knew you’d follow Him.
