Humans look at the outside of a person, but God looks on the inside. Like King Herod: He may have seemed like a brave person being a king and all, but he was willing to appease people, especially his wife and step-daughter/niece, who asked for John the Baptist’s head. He really liked John the Baptist, but feared what people would think of him if he did not grant the request from his step-daughter/niece to behead him as a gift to her.
The same fear drove Pilate to give Jesus over to the Romans to be crucified; though he found no wrongdoing with Jesus, he feared that the Israelites might become violent if he did not grant their request to crucify him. Ultimately, his fear of the people took over and decided Jesus’ crucifixion, despite the dream Pilate’s wife had:
Matt. 27:17: So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
Matt. 27:18 For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.
Matt. 27:19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”
This provokes the question within myself: Where in my life am I pleasing people?
It turns out – a lot of places! It becomes apparent that I’m pleasing others when I do something I don’t really want to do, but others in the group want to. This is what we call peer pressure, and giving in is to go with the grain. There are more areas in my life where I’m pleasing others that I’d like to admit, but there is hope.
As a Mom, I mess up all the time. Sometimes throughout the day with my son, I yearn to look at coaching networks, connect with great minds from various backgrounds, and to find out my next step with writing, but to what extent am I killing time with my son when I engage with these activities? With my husband? In a world of constant connection, my hope is in Christ, who connects the dots of chaos and brings joy and peace within my Madisonian home.
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