In November 2022, Harvey Weinstein was on trial—again—for raping women who originally met with him thinking the powerful Hollywood figure was simply going to help their careers. As the victims shared their testimonies, people were disgusted by Weinstein’s abuse of power. 

Mind if I’m depressing for a little bit? People have abused their power for as long as the world has had sin in it. About 450 years before Jesus was born, King Xerxes deposed his wife Vashti and searched for a new queen. That’s how we meet Esther in the Bible. She was one of a number of young women given a year of training in how to be beautiful. Then each got one night with Xerxes. If he didn’t like them, they went into his harem. The one he liked became queen. (Spoiler alert: It was Esther.)

These stories outrage us because we know it is wrong when “those people” use their power for evil, leaving victims in their wake. What about us though? We may not go to the extremes that Weinstein and Xerxes did, but it is easy to treat people poorly, to disregard them, to dismiss them as less valuable for any number of subjective reasons. That outrages God.

Today, let’s remember to look at all people who were made in the image of God. Let’s “live as free people, but do not use your freedom [or position of influence] as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:16-18).