Toxic Obedience

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

 

~~~ 1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 ~~~ Psalm 90 ~~~ Mark 6:17-29 ~~~

 

A few months ago I met a young man, we will call Jack.  

Jack was on the move fleeing his home, his sister, and his parents.

He was searching for a safe place to live.

He was going from city to city staying with friends hoping

 to find a place to make his home.

He needed to then look for a job.

He told me he could not stay with his family any longer.

He could not even stay in the same city.

He was obviously anxious about his future.

You see Jack was in a toxic family.

His parents were drug users. They also sold drugs to support their habit.

His sister was a prostitute most likely to support her drug habit as well.

Jack told me he tried to live with them, but he just could not

do it any longer.

He knew in his heart that he had to get out;

he had to get away from their influence.

I told him how much I admired his courage and strength.

I told him I would remember him in my prayers.

 

 

In the Gospel today we have the extreme example of the toxic family.

Herod's daughter, Salomé, had great love for her mother.

She trusted her mother. She sought counsel from her mother.

But on this particular day it was not good for her

 to heed her mother's advice.

 

To honor your father and mother does not absolve

the parents from right and wrong.

Herodias, the mother in this passage is filled with the darkness of sin.

This darkness had so clouded her soul

that nothing would stand in the way

of her having what she wanted.

 

John the Baptist spoke out against Herod

taking his brother's wife, Herodias.

Because of this, Herod had confined behind bars.

Herod thought that with John in prison he could go on with his sinful life.

Pleasure was his first goal, all types of pleasure.

 

When Salomé is presented with choosing anything

 her little heart desires,

she runs straight to mother for advice.

If committing adultery was not bad enough

 now she seizes the opportunity

to be the instigator in the murder of John the Baptist.

She descends into the depths of the ultimate sin; using her daughter.

 

Here is where I see the contrast between the young man Jack and Herod's daughter.

Salomé obeyed her mother without even questioning her request. 

Could she really have been so naïve as to think this was acceptable?  

 

When is it appropriate for a child to disobey?

Do we teach children that there are situations

when disobedience may be necessary?

 

Please join me today in praying for children all over the world

who are faced with toxic obedience decisions. 

I pray for more children to have the courage of Jack.

I pray that he has found a safe place to live in this world.

 

We hear of parents having to exercise 'tough love',

but we rarely hear of a child who must exercise the same 'tough love'.

 

Blessings for all children living in toxic family environments.

 

Herodias' daughter missed the chance

 to escape the darkness of her mother's sinfulness. 

Instead she too was caught up in the web of evil

through her toxic obedience.