“16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. 17 So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. 20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.”
How could Samson have been so blind? What type of warning does he need? How could he have overlooked the fact that Delilah had done all these things to him before the Philistines came? If he had told her the truth he would have been a goner long ago. How could he fall for it four times? Passions can affect your thinking.
Arrogance blinds us to reality. It makes us think we can handle it. Arrogance makes us increasingly vulnerable to pride. Temptations always come in attractive packages. It always looks inviting. We always think of reasons why we should or could do certain things from our own desires and temptation that is not put under check is left to affect our thinking. Satan’s poison is wrapped in a very pretty package and, though we can see all the effects of shipwrecked lives, including Christian leaders, we are blind to their warning. We refuse to wake up to the glitter of bigger, better, and richer and we find ourselves on a treadmill that leads to failure and dishonors God.
Set up the standards long before the emotions and passions occur. Set up the responses and think about them when the thinking is clear and right. Pray about it. Now when there is temptation, a plan has already been put in place. Think through how to handle different situations.
Mark Twain says it the best way, “To get out of temptation is to stay out.”
Application: I Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation is given you that is not common to men. For God will provide a way of escape that we may endure it.” Stay away! Don’t play around with things that can lead to sin. Be obedient to God’s word. Our sins start affecting our thinking so that we become our own judges of what is right and wrong. Do not be deceived.
Prayer: Lord, show me where I am dwelling that might lead me into temptation. Help me to draw a line in the sand and determine ahead of time how I will follow Your will in my response. Lord, have mercy on me.
