You've probably heard, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" or "Hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works". These are right, from a certain angle, but miss the essential point about our hearts: We naturally live to serve ourselves. We are bundles of needs and wants that are fighting for dominance. When unchecked and without the help of the Holy Spirit, this can lead to disastrous consequences. We see this illustrated starkly in the story of King Herod's birthday in the time of Jesus' earthly ministry.

"But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, 'Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.' And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother" (Matthew 14:6-11).

First, Herod is throwing an extravagant birthday party to celebrate himself, swelling his pride. Then, he lustfully watches a young girl dance, the daughter of the woman he is committing adultery with. Then, he lets his pride and lust drive him to make an open-ended promise. In Mark's gospel, Herod says, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." He essentially hands over his power to a girl because she got him excited. Unfortunately for Herod, the girl is a puppet of her mother, and this woman cashes in this promise to take out one of Jesus' friends: John the Baptist. Herod's pride, built up by his celebration of himself, forbids him from declining this request. Simple, innocuous-looking actions of pride and lust led to the beheading of a great man who even Herod respected.

You probably haven't made a few selfish decisions on your birthday that led to someone's death, but I know you can think of a least a few beloved things that you killed in your life because of little decisions. Was it your spouse's joy when you snapped at her out of frustration, your friend's purity when you excitedly recommended a TV show with nudity that he shouldn't have been watching, or your coworker's view of Christians when you got lazy about the project you were supposed to be helping on.

This mini story of John the Baptist’s beheading highlights how a few seemingly harmless acts of sin become the key to unlocking destruction in our lives.

Where are little acts of sin acting their sly way toward places of power in your life? What kind of small evils are you indulging in that will one day destroy something you love?

How are we to avoid the dangers that surround each of our hearts? What was Jesus' response to the temptations he went through before starting his earthly ministry? I won't go into it all now, but in Matthew 4:1-11, he faces three temptations that sought to shake the core of his identity. As each temptation was thrown at him, Jesus spoke the promises and instructions of God to counteract the poison of lies. He genuinely trusted that God's way, however unnatural to his human instincts, would lead him to God's best for him.

Let this be our approach to those little things that try to break what we love. Don't let temptation roll over you without a fight, no matter how small the sin may seem. Resist, holding onto hope and the truth that God is revealing to you.

Question:

Where are little acts of sin acting their sly way toward places of power in your life? What kind of small evils are you indulging in that will one day destroy something you love?