Just about everybody regrets some past decisions. It might have been a hairstyle, a clothing purchase, a relationship—there are various choices that a person might wish they could change if they could only have it to do over again.

There are many reasons for poor decision making. Let’s look at just a couple of them, from the account of King Herod’s actions recorded in Mark 6:14-29.

Herod gave a banquet for some very important people. The dancing girl who provided the entertainment pleased everyone so much that Herod promised her anything she wanted. She asked for the head of John the Baptist.

Herod wasn’t expecting that request! V.26 says, “The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.”  So, he had John executed, just as the girl had asked.

Here we see a couple of reasons for Herod’s poor decision. First, it was because of his oaths. He had promised to give the girl anything she asked for. We paint ourselves into a corner sometimes by making rash proclamations that we haven’t put any thought into. Have you ever locked yourself into a position that you later regretted simply because you had made a strong statement? Eccl.5:1-7 warns us about making rash vows. V.2 says, “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.” It is better to put some thought into our plans before we make any promises. This would eliminate the perceived need to follow through with our promise even after it becomes obvious that it was a bad idea.

The second reason we see for Herod’s poor decision is that he gave in to peer pressure. His guests had heard him make this proclamation, and he would look bad in their eyes if he went back on his word. Even kings can have an unhealthy desire to be people pleasers. The Bible continually urges us to please God rather than people. When the religious leaders ordered the apostles to stop preaching the gospel, Acts 2:29 records their response— “Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’” Paul writes in 1 Thess.2:4, “…We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” We can get into a lot of trouble when we give in to peer pressure. 1 Cor.15:33 says, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’”.

We can’t hope to ever completely eliminate our poor decisions. However, we can make more good decisions if we think before speaking and always try to please God instead of people.