Teens in the Bible – Salome, this teen was a seductive puppet

Chapter 22 teen Salome

Have you noticed how seductive (slutty?) teenage girls dress nowadays? I once asked a student of mine where she got the low-top, sexy outfit she was wearing (just before I sent her to the principal) and she said her mother bought it for her as a present [I groaned inside]. This reminded me of the story of the beheading of John the Baptist. You can find the details in Mark 6. Herod had married his brother’s wife  Herodias who had a daughter named Salome. Herodias made her daughter dance in front of all the high officials, military commanders, and influential men who attended Herod’s birthday banquet. Usually only prostitutes danced at these orgies. This was like asking Obama’s daughter to do a pole dance at a bachelor party.

We are supposed to obey our parents, but Salome’s obedience went too far. After she pleased Herod and his guests with her seductive dance he promised to give her anything she wanted. Salome slipped away and asked her mom what to ask for. Herodias said, “The head of John the Baptist” because John had spoken out against their immoral marriage.

I could almost forgive Salome for following mommy dearest’s request except that when she returned to Herod she said, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” Did you notice how she embellished it? First she added “right now” to her answer which tells me that she had inherited an impatient blood-thirsty gene from mommy. Second she added “on a platter”. How gruesome is that?

Next Saturday the boy with the fishes and loaves