Heads Can Roll with Foolish Gifts

What joy it will be to see my daughters dance at their ballet recital. When I was younger, I never really thought of myself as a lover of the ballet. But all that changed when my girls decided to give it a whirl. Now I will be like every other dad out there and go “ga-ga” over my girls as they twirl about and have a wonderful time dancing.
Now what should I give them for dancing so well? What do you think? Maybe I should give them a new Mercedes-Benz? No, they are too young to drive. How about an unlimited shopping spree to the mall? No, they have plenty of clothes and some to spare. Maybe all the toys they ever wanted? No, they don’t play with the toys they have. So what should I get them for dancing? The Bible tells us the story of Herodias’s daughter Salome in the Gospels of Mark 6:14-29 and Matthew 14:1-12. She too was a dancer and King Herod Antipas’ stepdaughter. She danced for him and his friends after an evening meal. He was so taken aback by her beauty and the way she performed he made her a promise. Herod said, “Ask for anything you want and I will give it to you. Whatever you ask I will give to you, up to half my kingdom.” So, what do you think she asked for? She ran back to her mother and was told to declare that she wanted John the Baptist’s head on a platter… and now! King Herod was stunned. He may have been joking when he offered half his kingdom (he worked for the occupying Roman Empire, so he actually had no kingdom to give). Nevertheless, he was put on the spot. Maybe he would have given her the finest camel money could buy, but John the Baptist’s head, that’s not what he had in mind. But the text tells us that he was too embarrassed to deny her request, therefore he granted it and had John beheaded.
Did we learn anything from such ignorant requests? I’m not sure. When I was in high school I dare say that I looked around the parking lot and I remember the few teens that had new cars, but there were only a couple and it was a school of over 1100 students, some had clunkers and many still rode the bus. I myself sported a six year old 1978 Chevy Chevette. No, not Corvette but Chevette. The only air conditioning that car ever had was when I popped the hatch-back and rolled down the windows. It was more akin to the Flintstone mobile than the Batmobile! Today, I see youth with everything their hearts desire (cars, electronics, cell phones, etc.) and I wonder if we have overindulged our youth. How do you improve your life if mom and dad purchase everything you ever wanted? Does having it all early help one appreciate anything achieved later? There’s nothing wrong with having nice things, but maybe such things would be better when they are earned. It is a struggle many parents face… how much is too much? Are we spoiling our children rotten? It seems to me that we might listen to Herod’s tale with modern ears and maybe we can appreciate his plight a bit more than we thought.