Head on a Plate; Now What?

It is easy to think that if I am faithful to God, that God will be sure to give me the type of success I am expecting. John the Baptist surely fulfilled the role God had written into Scripture for him. Yet instead of seeming success, John is imprisoned and beheaded. Remarkably, a faithful witness for Christ is often met with violent opposition.
It took courage for John to confront Herod about his wicked life. He spoke hard words to him. Yet those hard words were a show of kindness. Sin promises pleasure yet it steals pleasure instead.
Herod feared John even while John was in prison. Isn't that strange? It should be the other way around. Yet Herod's sin is driving him to irrational actions. He promises his niece half the kingdom in a drunken party. Yet he even gives in to her request for John's head on a plate. What reward did sin give Herod or his niece? What reward does your sin give you? What reward did John the Baptist's faithfulness give him? What reward will a faithful life bring you?