CONVICTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!

CONVICTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!

Mark 6:17-28

17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.

18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.

19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:

20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;

22 And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.

23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.

24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.

26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.

27 And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,

28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.

          What we call political correctness is not that at all. It is instead the weak-kneed acknowledgment of a lie to insure personal gain or safety. Killing a baby, whether born or unborn, sounds so much like murder that we redefine the procedure and call it abortion. The reason a stereotype is a stereotype is that the condition, whatever it may be, occurs frequently enough to identify it as such. For instance, turtles are slow. It is simply a fact of observation and not meant to hurt the tender feelings of the poor tortoise.

          John Baptist was not politically correct! He had no political ambitions. His life purpose was to tell the truth and prepare a way for Messiah. There was no time for small talk. Along the way John made friends of those who loved truth and he also made some bitter enemies of those who took advantage of lies. It cost him his head.

          I have personally observed that strong convictions prefer to abide in the breast of the aged sages rather than younger people. Yes, I know that statement is not politically correct, but it is a personal observation nonetheless. Struggling in myself to see the reason for this, I came across a quote from Stanley Hauerwas quoted in “First Things” (May 1955). Here is the quote: “The ministry seems captured in our time by people who are desperately afraid they might actually be caught with a conviction at some point … that might curtail future ambition.” Where neither ambition nor much future exists, convictions have room to grow.

          Let us have no ambition but to be like Jesus! We have no guaranteed future! Let us therefore lovingly tell the truth, the whole truth knowing that in doing so we may pay a price for it.

Dear Lord, you are my only ambition and my only real future. Let me, therefore, hold fast to the truth. AMEN