Fear

Matthew 14:1-12

Fear has held a part time job for both good and evil. It has kept people from doing right, and it has kept them from doing wrong. (When fear keeps evil in check, then I'm a fan of it. Go fear!)

Fear kept Herod from killing John the Baptist. "Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet" (Matthew 14:5).
But then it was fear that enabled him to kill John. On second thought, maybe I'm not such a fan of fear. It only kept Herod in check until he found people more intimidating than his constituency: his party guests.

The guests had come to celebrate Herod's birthday. They watched as Herod's step-daughter danced before them. They listened as Herod, flushed with pleasure, promised her with an oath anything she wanted. They waited to see his reaction when she asked for the head of John the Baptist.

Herod saw them; he was fully aware of their precense. He would be a man of his word. (Usually it's honorable to be a man of your word, but if your words are wrong--then by any means, do not be a man of your word.) He had said, "anything" and he would give "anything". He gave the head of the the greatest man who ever lived for a party gaffe. Pride is that powerful.