Captivated by God

Mark 6:21-23 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
 
HEROD is so captivated with Herodias’ daughter, who is his niece, that he is willing to give her half his kingdom. What kind of foolish, lustful man is this? Herod’s kind is a much too common kind of man. Sins of the flesh captivate the world and cause us to run after quick pleasure. Do sins of the flesh captivate you?
   Before you answer, consider this: What are sins of the flesh? Could they be your desire for the newest car, latest technology tool or extravagant clothes? Could sins of the flesh be too much time watching TV or endless useless chatter in social networks?
   Herod’s sin was obvious. Drunk with wine and temptation, he claimed he was willing to give away half his very substantial kingdom. And his lust for the flesh did not end that day because nothing will ever satisfy the desire for “more”. Sin captivated his soul until it destroyed him. History’s evidence tells us he died in absolute poverty in miserable exile.
   Now think about the things that captivate you. Are they the worldly things that will destroy you, exile you from friends and from God? Or are they things that will capture your soul to more deeply love God and love others? How does this love guard and guide your soul?
   One way is to listen to the Spirit’s commands to reject the bonds of tradition and false teaching. The apostle Paul writes in Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Paul well knew deceptive philosophies and traditions kept people from God. He was a Pharisee, and he had promoted such traditions. The Pharisees had added 600 laws to God’s law. They taught the Jews that obeying all of these laws was necessary to be righteous in God’s sight. These laws became tradition that ruled over God’s laws. This clouded the Jews’ view of God just as much as Herod’s lust blinded him.
   When Paul began to minister the gospel, he saw new tradition binding and blinding the church. False teachers created empty works-based philosophies in an attempt to form salvation in their own image. “Tradition worship” was Satan’s method to blind the Jews to God’s promises of life in his gracious love. The same has happened in the church. We have allowed human-formed traditions to capture our hearts. The result is we can find it difficult to trust God’s rich, lavish grace he promises to all who call on Jesus as Lord and Savior.
   The account of John’s battle with Herod is the story of God’s war with Satan. We find it easy to condemn Herod. But we must be careful to discern if anything we desire lessens or even blocks our relationship with God.