In Matthew 14, we are told the story of King Herod who was enticed into killing John the Baptist. He was living in sin with Herodias, his brother Philip's wife and was confronted by John the Baptist for his intentional mockery of God. It made King Herod mad! But, the people considered John a great prophet, and King Herod feared public disapproval if he were to have him murdered. After his niece danced enticingly for him, he promised her whatever she wanted. He had no idea what she would ask! Her mother had already told her what to ask for: John the Baptist's head on a silver plate!
When Herod realized what he had done, he was sorry; but, because he had made a vow, he did as he promised and had John the Baptist beheaded in prison. What an incredibly prideful man! He didn't want to appear weak in front of all those who heard him make the vow to his niece. Even though he was sorry and knew that he'd spoken foolishly in promising such a thing, he had too much pride to admit he was wrong.
Pride is a wicked thing, girls, for it leads to so much more. It is pride that mocks us when we refuse to say sorry when we're in the wrong, and it is the same pride that refuses to accept others' apologies. How many times I've argued just for the sake of arguing even when I knew I was wrong! We just hate to be wrong, don't we? But, it's certainly not doing us any favors because there will always be times when we are wrong in life! We harm no one more than our own selves when we, like King Herod, would rather continue down the wrong path just because we don't have the character to admit we've made a mistake.
Scripture Reading for the Day:
Proverbs 29
Matthew 14
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