Bible verses about putting God first

I will be focussing on Vashti in my reflection of these verses. She shows how as followers of the Lord our God, we must put him first always. The context of this verse follows: Vashti was the King's wife, and he wanted to show off her beauty to the men, so he asked her to come out wearing the crown. Vashti refused. You see, it wasn't as simple as Vashti coming out wearing a crown, the King instructed her to come out wearing nothing, but the crown. Her refusal was a disgrace to the King, and therefore she had so much to lose by not following this order. She knew this; she still refused. She has boundaries, where her crown is not worth disgracing herself, or pleasing others. She stands firm in her boundaries, and is willing to lose everything in order to do so. 

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Esther is like most women; it seems like a storybook sweet story, where she is made Queen because the King loved her most. But put her into her reality; she was an orphan, raised by a cousin. She was young when she was taken to the Citadel and placed in preparatory palace harem. Then her turn came to go to the King. We all have boundaries, but sometimes we put our flesh's desires before these boundaries; we are not always dignified. Esther carried traumas on her back, with scars of suffering; pleasing the likes of a King and becoming Queen, even if that means we dishonour our boundaries seems worth it. But Vashti teaches us to sacrifice worldly possessions, like a royal crown, and instead stand fully clothed in the spirit of the Lord, so we receive crowns of kindness, love, peace and joy. What is a crown if it is a crown of disgrace, or hate, or not of God? It is a crown without worth.