The king, beside whom the queen was sitting, asked me, How long will your journey take, and when will you return? So it pleased [him] to send me; and I set him a time. – Nehemiah 2:6, AMP

Being a person of cheerful integrity can pay off.

In Nehemiah 2, we find Nehemiah in a discourse with King Artaxerxes of Persia. During this discourse, Nehemiah receives permission from the king to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the city. Nehemiah’s ability to find favor in the king’s sight was definitely of God’s doing. But, I have to believe that Nehemiah had a role in obtaining that favor by faithfully and cheerfully fulfilling his post as the king’s cupbearer.

The king trusted few people as much as he trusted his cupbearer. According to Wikipedia:

A cup-bearer was an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty it was to serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues, a person must be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold this position. He must guard against poison in the king’s cup, and was sometimes required to swallow some of the wine before serving it. His confidential relations with the king often gave him a position of great influence. The position of cup bearer is greatly valued and given to only a select few throughout history. Qualifications for the job were not held lightly but of high esteem valued for their beauty and even more for their modesty, industriousness and courage.

In short, only faithful men of integrity were chosen for the position Nehemiah held, and the book of Nehemiah provides ample proof that Nehemiah was such a man.  In addition to being faithful, however, Nehemiah chose also to be cheerful in his duties, and his habit of cheerfulness impacted the king tremendously.  Having never before been sad in the king’s presence, King Artaxerxes became concerned for his trusted servant when Nehemiah could not hide his melancholy spirit. Some commentators indicate that the king could sentence a person to death for being of poor countenance in his presence and that was the reason for Nehemiah becoming fearful when the king noticed his sorrow. This could very well be why Nehemiah was afraid – and why he never before had been sad in the king’s presence – or he may have been afraid simply because of the enormity of the favor he was about to ask.  Regardless, the king was not angry with Nehemiah but concerned for him, and that concern was at least partially born from a leader’s respect for a faithful, cheerful servant.

We ought perform whatever duty the Lord has placed before us with cheerfulness and fervor, for we never know when our faithful service will be an influence on a key decision maker. Will we ever have influence over a king as Nehemiah did? Doubtful. However, there are matters of great import that happen at every level of society, and we very well may be in the right place at the right time to be used of God to influence others for His glory. The attitude with which we serve today could be a huge factor in receiving a favorable response from the authorities that God would have us petition, so we would do well to guard our demeanor against bitterness, anger, and sorrow.

Respect is earned, not given.  Carry out your duties faithfully and cheerfully, and the respect you earn from those in authority over you will bring favor to yourself and will bring glory to God.