”Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet. On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted and had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.“ – Matthew 14:5-12 NIV

The interesting thing about this is that Herod presents himself having no options because of the oath, but he already wanted to kill John the Baptist, and let the oath be an excuse for the act. The oath was made in haste, but the commitment to the oath would’ve been a greater sin than breaking the oath. Isn’t it far better to not be proven a man of your word than to kill a man? Or to look like a fool whose tongue moves faster than their brain than one who has terrible morals. Herod ended up killing John the Baptist not because of the oath, but because he wanted to because he is an evil man. Easiest lesson to be gleaned from her terrible tail is to choose your words carefully and make oath with even more care. Jesus had this to say about frivolously swearing oaths:

”“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.“ – Matthew 5:33-37 NIV

When should fulfill their oaths and vows but should be careful about making them. Not all vows are bad, think about marriage. But when not being careful about the way that you’re doing it, it is evil.