Proverbs 20 verse 2 says, The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion. Whoso provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul. The second half of this proverb presents some serious food for thought. In our previous devotional, we discussed the reality that in really dark times, Christians faced the wrath of the king by simply being obedient to God. Paul and the apostles lived during such a time, but even in the best of times, we're told in 2 Timothy 3.12, yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So how do we balance that with what our proverb says? Whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul. And more specifically, what about John the Baptist? Did John the Baptist sin against his own soul? We're told what happened in Matthew 14, verses three and four says, for Herod had laid hold on John and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, it is not lawful for thee to have her. That landed John in jail. And while in jail, Herod's birthday arrived, and during his birthday party, Herod enjoyed the dance that his illegitimate wife Herodias' daughter had performed, and we can only figure it was quite sensual and suggestive in some way, just based upon our knowledge of the culture of that time, which was much like our own today. Herod enjoyed the dance so much that he promised the daughter of Herodias with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask in Matthew 14, 7. In Mark's account, he adds in Mark 6, 23, and he swear unto her, whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee unto half of my kingdom. Matthew 14, 8 tells us, And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And he did. John the Baptist was beheaded. So that brings us back to our proverb and the fact that some say John overstepped and got himself killed needlessly. And others ask, did John the Baptist sin against his own soul? Since our proverb says in full, the fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion, whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul. My answer is, I don't think John the Baptist sinned against his own soul. I believe our proverb is speaking about needlessly, carelessly, foolishly, even wickedly provoking a king, or others in authority with the power to do us harm, and provoking them to anger. I do not believe this applies to John the Baptist, or obviously to Jesus, or the apostles, or the many Christian martyrs. Nor does it apply to anyone who is standing for righteousness, preaching the gospel, speaking up on behalf of the innocent, like those imprisoned for protesting abortion under the Biden's Marxist administration, or any other similar situation. As a matter of fact, when God's people do not speak up in such situations, That silence is actually a sin against their own soul. 1 Peter 4, 16 says, yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. So, the lesson of our proverb is simple. If your actions are sinful and you provoke the king, you deserve what's coming and have sinned against your own soul. Don't be a tax rebel. Or go to prison over not wanting to pay your taxes. Don't violate the law unless it requires you to disobey God. Then you obey God rather than men. Don't become violent except in self-defense. Think and act biblically. And if that, including preaching the gospel, taking a stand against abortion and so forth, against Sodom, if that lands you in hot water with the king or with those in power, then so be it. Amen.