Mark 6:22-23
One
of the lessons I learned early on in my banking career, personal banking
career, is that you never sign a check and leave the amount blank. It can be
dangerous to tell someone to fill in the amount. They could put any amount they
want to in blank. They could empty out your checking account. They could
overcharge.
One
of the downfalls of modern savings is the credit/debit card. It makes spending
money too easy. Saving money requires discipline. The plastic cards make
impulse purchases and over-budget purchases too easy. Research has found that
having to use cash, the actual paper money, makes us spend less impulsively. It
slows down the thinking process and puts a tangible value to the purchase.
Impulse
decisions are often ones that we regret. The King, Herod, has been set up by
his new wife. She knows his weaknesses and she uses them against him. She knows
he can’t resist a “piece of tail” so she uses that against him. She knows he
cares deeply about what other people think of him. This too becomes a weapon
against him. And he is proud and impulsive.
So
in the heat of excitement, seeing this young woman dance before he and his
guests, he writes the blank check. He might have expected her to ask for a
chariot of her own (the equivalent of a new car), but he leaves the door open.
Look
closely at his offer. He is willing to give her a 49.9% share in his
corporation. This is not quite a controlling share amount, but you get the
picture. He is willing to put in all on the line for her. You would not want to
leave him alone in Atlantic City or Las Vegas. He would spend it all.
Some
of us would give our kids just about anything in order to be “liked.” We want
them to be our friends, so we write them blank checks by giving them
consequences for their actions, but then backing out and not carrying through
on the consequences. We ground them for a week, but then let them go over to
their friend’s special event only two days into the discipline. We take away
their electronic devices, but then give them back the next day because they are
driving you nuts with the complaining.
The
king starts with the reward of “anything”, but then retracts the offer a little
bit by making it official. He starts with everything, but then gives her a
dollar figure, “half”.
In
wealthy families you can see this competition playing out in the High School
parking lots. The kids play the fancy cars against their parents. “They got the
BMW. Why can’t I get one?” With younger kids it might be, “They have a cell
phone, why not me?” or “horse” or “TV” or, or, or.