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Mark 6:14-29 – “Promise Me”
“Promise Me” (Mark 6:14-29)
“Pomise me you won’t tell anyone.” That request – actually it is more of a desperate demand – has been said in many sad and serious situations. Because we care we promise. But….
Some of us have been confidants of a poor soul afraid to tell their secret because of abuse or other sad and serious situations. After we have promised, we are tormented with whether we should keep our word because we are afraid of losing a friend. Plus, we promised!
A friend of mine decided to break her promise to another friend. All this happened at the time they were both children. The bruised friend ended up having her secret told. Afterwards she did not talk to her friend (unknown to my friend it was not because her friend was hurt) who had proved to be a true friend. Years went by, they found each other again and the formerly abused friend thanked her confidant for breaking her promise.
King Herod made a promise to Herodias’ daughter he should not have made or kept. Because he was afraid of losing face with those who had heard, he decided to keep the promise and beheaded John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-29).
In reading the Bible we must find practical applications for us or else it becomes a useless collection of morality tales. The lesson for us today is, sometimes it is best – even required – to break a promise in order to do what’s right by protecting the innocent from the guilty. By so doing we are actually keeping the promise of being a friend.
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