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| One sin leads to another |
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| Written by Doug Craven | |
| Wednesday, 22 July 2009 | |
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“One Sin Leads to Another” Mark 6:14-29 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. Mark 6:26-27a (NIV) Do any of you go out to the grocery store and pass the aisle with all the chips and realize you “need” a bag of potato chips? And once you get them out of the store is it not tempting sometimes to break open the bag and say to ourselves, I’ll just get one or maybe two, but it doesn‘t end up being just one or two. You know, that’s the trouble with potato chips -- if you eat one, you want another. In fact, there is a company that makes potato chips whose slogan and ad campaigns are built around the idea that once you start you just can’t stop! They know that one chip leads to another and before you know it, you have totally lost control and you have eaten the whole bag of chips. That’s the way it is sometimes with sin. Once we have allowed ourselves to do something once, we may fall into the understanding that it is okay do it again, and again, and again. Soon, we have totally lost control. That’s what happened to Herod and Herodias in our Bible story today. Herod had married Herodias who was the wife of his brother. And even though it was against Jewish Law, Herod wanted John the Baptist to tell him that it was okay. John would refuse to tell him it was okay, because the law clearly stated that he was not to take her as his wife while his brother lived. Herodias was very angry because John refused to give his blessing to their marriage. Herodias developed a “grudge” against John and wanted to kill him. But Herod was afraid to kill him because he knew that John was a holy man of God and he also feared the people turning on him if he hurt John. So, instead of killing him, he had him put into prison. On his birthday, Herod gave a big feast. He asked the daughter of Herodias to dance for him and his guests. When she danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests so much that he told her that he would give her anything she wanted. The girl didn’t know what to ask for, so she ran and asked her mother. Herodias saw her chance to get rid of John the Baptist, so she told her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The girl hurried in to Herod and said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” Herod was very sad, he didn’t want to kill John, but he had promised the girl that he would give her anything she wanted. What started as Herod sinning against Jewish Law lead to the sin of murdering John. That’s the way it is with lies and with sin; sometimes you can’t commit just one! Loving God, when we fall victim to our own temptations and those of the world around us, help us to remember that one sin often leads to another, and another. Amen. ....Doug Craven |
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