Isn’t it interesting how we
sometimes are determined to succeed at something but using a particular method
which we use repeatedly despite that we are failing consistently yet God has not
insisted that we use that one method? I often wonder why we do that. I know it
is sometimes because we have a problem with change but I have seen people who
embrace change fall into this trap so I wonder if perchance it could be because
of plain stubbornness or too much pride to admit that one is wrong or could it
be that we lie to ourselves that this next time some factors are different and
the little difference is enough to give us a different result? I have found
that lying to ourselves about anything won’t change the result; the sooner we
tell ourselves the truth and make the required adjustments, the sooner we can
move forward. Samson yielded to pressure and told the lady he was in love with
the answer to his riddle and she told her kinsmen. This led to him having to stake
his life to get foreskins of Philistines. Yet he did it again and this time
with a prostitute which was even worse; he told her the secret of his power and
lost his power as a result of which he subsequently lost his life. We need to learn
from the mistakes we made. He should have learnt a lesson from the first one.
Any one slow to learn from their mistakes will suffer untold loss and such loss
may even include loss of his life. The sooner one learns the better.
Proverbs 1: 22, 24 – 27 “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on
being simple minded? ... I called you so often but you wouldn’t come. I reached
out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the
correction I offered. So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you
when disaster overtakes you.”
We must not take anything precious
to us for granted, you would most likely lose it and this includes even
relationships. What can be more precious than the gifts of God? Very often, we
take the benefits of the privilege of being children of God for granted and
because we don’t seem to suffer any immediate apparent loss, we go on and on.
We often assume that despite the word of God, we can carry on as we please and
as some argue “God is merciful and will forgive” which is indeed true; but
there are consequences for actions, some of which may indeed be costly. A lot
of the time we assume that the consequences will be taken away because the sin
has been forgiven but I have found that they are two different things and I
have seen people endure the consequences of their wrong sometimes, despite that
we all know that the sin has been forgiven. Samson took the power of God in His
life for granted. He had gotten so used to it that he assumed he could do just about
anything and it would always be there. Though Samson was sorry, his hair had
been shaven and so, he had lost his power which was never restored until his
hair grew up and in the interim, he suffered greatly in the hands of his
enemies. I believe it was the mercy of God that caused his hair to grow back as
fast as it did; what if “your hair never grows back?” We must be circumspect.
We must stay away from presumption.
Judges 16: 21–22 “So the
Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where
he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in prison.”
Pride is a destroyer. Samson had
gotten so many victories that he became proud. At some point he had even
removed and taken away the gates of an entire city which must have been strong
because it was it was used to keep out enemies and their soldiers; so he must
have been strong. It is so easy to get carried away and we all have the
tendency to do that so we must watch out for ourselves. He was certain that no
one could capture him but unfortunately for him God, who was the secret of His
strength, resists the proud. Indeed, pride opens a door into our lives which
the enemy never misses and always takes advantage of. The truth is, it lures one
away from the covering of God making us easy prey for the enemy. It is
something we must watch out for even in us. God won’t take away the pride, we
have to decide to put it away so that we can then take on the nature of God.
Please note that pride has nothing to do with how rich or poor one is; we have
seen poor people that have been so proud you almost don’t want to have anything
to do with them. It is a problem of the human race.
Proverbs 11: 2 “Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes
wisdom”
James 1: 14 – 15 “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice
us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin
is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”
Samson was ultimately destroyed
by himself and not really by the enemy. He was endowed with all he needed to
live and fulfill his destiny and heaven was certainly on his side but he seemed
like a man that was bent on ruining his own life. Very often we are like that
but then we blame it on all sorts of spiritual problems but we must remember
that the “enemy within” is more powerful than the enemy on the outside. If we
can conquer self, no matter how sweet it appears to be, then we can live that
fulfilled and successful life that God ordained for us. Sometimes we don’t
realize how damaging self is when it often presents itself as sweet and lovely,
dreamy and silly but it is. Anytime self is in control of your life, you run
the danger of destroying your life and that, no matter how sweet it appears to
be.
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