The High Cost of Low Living (Part 2)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

King Herod was exceedingly sorrowful that he had commanded John the Baptist to be beheaded. He respected John and wanted his voice in his life. Even though he wasn’t living right, something in John made him reverence the truth when he heard it.

This story still speaks to every one of us in our everyday lives. Herod represents our flesh and carnal desires. Herod’s step-daughter, the dancer, represents the pleasures of the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. She represents the enticing web of Satan. She still dances today on every billboard, phone, and computer screen, constantly trying to enter into your life to feed your carnal desires.  

But there’s also another character in this story. Satan does not want you to rule and reign as the king over your home, flesh, or family. He wants to destroy you. The wife of Herod, Herodias, represents Satan. Notice that the decision and the cost of the dance was made in the shadows of another room. She was really the brains behind the whole set-up. Satan sits in the dark. He never reveals himself and he entices us to feed our ego and carnal desires.

Herodias was the decider of the cost of the dance. Not Herod. You don’t decide how much you will pay. The enemy does. You may look at the price tag of your dance and decide that it’s a price you’re willing to pay. But you don’t decide the high cost of low living. The cost of the dance will be decided by someone who wasn’t even invited to the party.  

You can’t play with sin without it costing you something. Every dance has to be paid for. There are no free dances. Herod went from celebrating and having the best day to being “exceedingly sorrowful.” 

There is a high cost to live outside of God’s boundaries. Moses chose God rather than the pleasures of sin for a season. Even though he could have had all the pleasures and riches of Egypt he “refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” (Hebrews 11:26) He knew that true joy and fulfillment could only come through a relationship with God.

Share