What killed John the Baptist?
It was not King Herod who just decided to kill John the baptist because John told Herod that it is not good to take your his brother’s wife(Mark 6:18). So, telling the truth in this situation was not the problem that directly lead to his death as many would think.
Infact, “Herodias, was furious with John the Baptist and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection” (Mark 6: 20). Though, Herod was perplexed by the truth, he still loved listening to John and protected him against Herodias.
What actually killed John was not the dance of the daughter of Herodias but the emotion and passion of Herod which made him to promise heaven and earth to the young lady.
And so, it became that the man who protected John the baptised from Herodias and loved listening to him became the same man who ordered the beheading of John the Baptist. Evidently, it was not his will but since he had made an oath, not from pure reasoning, for what if the lady dancer had requested Herod to take his own life? So, it was so unreasonable for Herod to say to the lady, “Ask me anything you like and I will give it you” (Mark 6:23-24).
You may blame Herod but in many situations, we are not different, we always act purely from emotions and pleasure instincts. “Living so much on the flesh” has consequences and St. Paul was right when he said that “When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: sexual vice, impurity, and sensuality…(Galatians 5:19).
Therefore, do “not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit” ( I Cor 1:7), so that our utterances shall be such that is guided in full knowledge (I Cor 1: 5), unlike Herod.
Let us not allow our flesh to rule over us because we shall see ourselves making harmful promises and decisions like king Herod. We can avoid this by feeding our spirits more through prayer and reading meditatively the Word of God.