GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:23
Promises, Promises, Promises
Televisions, newspapers, and magazines are filled with promises. One advertisement promises that following a diet or swallowing a pill will help shed 30 pounds in 30 days—guaranteed. Another advertiser says that rubbing a skincare product on facial wrinkles will erase 10 years overnight. Still another advertiser promises a scheme that will turn $100 into $10,000 in a week—no experience needed.
In another area, there are promises such as “We will eliminate all poverty in four years,” “I alone can fix it,” “Everyone will have perfect healthcare—free and instant,” or “We will build a wall that stops every single person.”
Motivational books promise to unlock the reader’s potential in one weekend. Some coaching programs promise guaranteed transformation or your money back. One motivational program says, “Think it, and it will happen—no effort required.”
It doesn’t take long for a consumer to develop strategies to avoid hyperbolic promises. He avoids appeals directed at emotion rather than to reason. He looks for scientific rather than anecdotal evidence. He looks askance at absolute language, reads the fine print, avoids rushed decisions, and, among other things, trusts his instincts.
In his gospel, Mark gives a classic example of an exaggerated promise. According to Mark, Herod Antipas gave a banquet for his military commanders and political supporters—“high officials.” His stepdaughter performed a pleasing dance for the revelers. “And he swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give to you, as far as half of my kingdom.’” (Mark 6:23) First, it is likely that Herod was filled with wine, and this far-fetched promise came from an alcohol-muddled brain. Second, though he is often referred to as a king, Herod was a Tetrarch, a ruler of a fourth part of a region—in the Roman system, more like a governor. Third, the gift of such grants was the province of the Roman emperor, not a local administrator.
There is a fine line between prudence and skepticism—knowing the good or questioning everything. In a promise-saturated world, it is healthy to keep one hand on each of these methods.
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