Our strongest desires can sometimes disguise themselves as a dangerous form of love. “Love” can be a perilous trap when we willingly allow ourselves to believe lies and become ensnared and enslaved in misery.
The story of Samson and Delilah in the Bible serves as a prominent example of this. Three times Delilah asked Samson for the secret of his strength, and each time she made it known that she had his enemies ready to come in and take him captive. It was evident to everyone reading the story that her intentions were to sell him out to his enemies—the Philistines. However, Samson BELIEVED she LOVED him and he ignored her easily discernible and malicious intentions. Thus, after Delilah’s first three failed attempts to get Samson to tell her the secret of his strength, the Bible recounts his tragic downfall:
Then [Delilah] said to him,
“How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”
And it came to pass, when she PESTERED him daily with her words and PRESSED him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her,
“No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the Lords of the Philistines, saying,
“Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.”
So the Lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to TORMENT him, and his strength left him. And she said,
“The Philistines are upon you, Samson!”
So he awoke from his sleep, and said,
“I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!”
But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.
Judges 16:15-21
My friend, how many times have our desires masqueraded as “love” and enslaved us?
We see from this story that even before Samson was captured, had his eyes put out, and was chained to a grinder in prison, that the “love” he enjoyed with Delilah was not that great. She pestered and vexed him, hardly a picture of paradise. However, Samson remained with her—until it was too late for him to avoid permanent enslavement.
God has reminded me that I, too, often allow my desires to deceive me, just as Samson did. One of the most significant truths conveyed throughout the ENTIRE Bible is that anything we love more than we love God will ultimately enslave us. Sin renders us powerless and sets us on a path of aimless wandering. It chains and blinds us and sets us on a life devoid of purpose and hope. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend my life grinding someone else’s grain!
It is only when we wholeheartedly love God, making Him the center of all we do, that we experience true freedom, strength, hope, and satisfaction. Jesus emphasized this when He taught that the first and greatest commandment is to:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.”
Luke 10:27
God desires for us to live in the embrace of His love and truth. His love surpasses our self-love, and it does not blind us. Loving God gives us purpose and satisfaction!
God’s love illuminates our path with HIS divine light.
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One Response
The question is, are we Delilah?