She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” 

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.  – Mark 6:24

King Herod really liked John the Baptist.  King Herod’s wife, Herodias, hated him simply because he preached that it was unlawful for them to be married to each other according to Leviticus 18:16.  One day, when the daughter of Herodias pleased Herod greatly, he made an offer to give her whatever she wanted.  He made an oath in front of his guests to give her up to half his kingdom, and thus thought that there was no way he could go back on his word.

I read this story recently in a Teen Study Bible.  There was an application that I sure wish I had read when I first started following Jesus.  When asked to chop off the head of his friend, Herod thought he had to keep his word.  But the truth was, he simply didn’t want to look bad in front of his friends and guests.  The study part of the Bible said that Herod could have simply said something like, “I said I’d give you up to half my kingdom, not commit murder!”  The point being, there was a way that he could have played this off and saved his friend’s life and saved face in front of his friends. 

I remember very early in my teaching days overhearing two girls berate a boy for still being a virgin in high school.  I knew him and his family to be very solid Christians.  Instead of giving into the peer pressure and worrying about it, he gave the best response I’ve ever heard to this day: “I can become like you anytime I want, but you can never become like me again.” 

What a better ending!

Lord, I have messed up so much in this life.  I messed most of it up as a Bible believing saved Christian.  I’ve given in to so many temptations.  I’ve kept promises and dumb oaths that I’ve made simply because I said I would and felt like I had to back up my words.  All this to the detriment of my well-being and to the detriment of honoring Your Name.  You are truly the Savior.  You are truly the Lord of all!  You are truly the Author and Finisher of our faith.  Thank You for loving me, for being patient with me, and for simply working in my heart, mind, and life.  You are and always will be the best thing that has ever happened to me.  I look so forward to the day when my faith becomes sight.  I love You, Lord!  Thank You for loving me first!  Amen.