Regrets!

 Mark 6: 14 – 29 v 26 “Then the king deeply regretted what he had said, but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her.”

Herod Antipas, the King soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about Him. Herod thought Jesus could be John the Baptist come back to life or like another great prophet of the past. John had been arrested as he was telling Herod that he should not have married his brother’s wife, Herodias. Herodias did not like John saying such things and wanted him killed but was powerless to do it because Herod respected John and knowing he was a good and holy man protected him. However, on Herod’s birthday, her daughter danced for Herod, and he was so impressed he offered to give her up to half of his Kingdom or whatever else she would like. She went to her mother who told her to ask for John the Baptists head on a platter. Then the king deeply regretted what he had said, but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her.

I would hope that any decisions I have made did result in someone being beheaded but I know I have made decisions that I had later regretted. We are all in positions of power over others just like the King, over our children, the poor we see in the street, those who are sick and hungry in the world as we ponder our charitable donations, the stranger we pass on the street. We can choose to be loving and kind or look the other way, as Jesus also pointed out in the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10: 29 -37) The power of traditions and rules of etiquette are also apparent in this story as the King could not go back on His word, especially as it was done publicly for all to see. It is easier to live with rules, but Jesus sets us free, to live with the main rule of thumb, love. Make sure in all you do this week you do with love being the focus, sometimes those rules need to be changed.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the example of Jesus who showed us how to love those who are different from us, and help us this week to see that love is to be our guide in the decisions we make. Amen.