Shine!

“Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip…” Matthew 14:3

Herod seemed to have a conscience. When the daughter of Herodias , Herod’s mistress, asked for the head of John the Baptist, Herod was distressed. But he was weak, and bowed to the dictates of Herodias and did not wish to disappoint the people. We can see here that a bad woman can influence a man to do horrible things. Although she was a Princess and exerted great influence, she used it to “confound the laws of the country” as written by the historian Josephus. 

Contrast this with another woman, Empress Theodora, wife of Emperor Justinian I. Although she came from a peasant background, after her conversion, she was strong in her religious beliefs. Because of her commitment to her principles, she worked towards the betterment of her society, the rights of women, and the legal system to help the poor and the weak. The Empress was regarded as a diplomat, politically savvy and a worthy partner of her husband and through their partnership, the Byzantine Empire flourished. 

We may not be Princesses or Empresses, but we too have choices to either be a light to those around us, or a dark shadow. We can be a wellspring for good words, encouragement, inspiration, positive action, OR a source of complaints, selfish behavior, defamation, or destruction. Let us challenge ourselves to start now, not tomorrow, to be the change this world needs, in our little corner of the world.

William Shakespeare wrote, “How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”