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Story about sun exposure – how it takes effort and paying attention to keep yourself safe.
If you aren’t focusing on the task at hand… at the goal – you will lose sight of what is important.
This morning we heard the familiar story of Samson and Delilah – of a man who was tempted into giving up his secret strength.
But to understand this story we need a little bit of background.
And so even before this child was born, the mother lived according to the Nazarite vow and then when the child Samson came into the world, he was declared a nazarite. Now, being an infant – he couldn’t choose this himself – but according to the tradition – a father can declare his son a nazirite. Samson had the right to refuse this status and to end his promises, but nowhere in the scriptures does it say that he does this.
So Samson took on these vows and grew and God blessed him with strength as a result of his faithfulness.
However, Samson had a weakness. He had a distraction in his life. And that distraction was women.
It’s not so much that his love for women was a bad thing. But time and time again, his weakness for the members of the opposite sex put him in terrible situations.
And eventually, as we heard this morning, Samson was tempted away from his Nazarite pledge by losing sight of what was most important. He put this woman, Delilah, before the pledge that he and his parents had made to God. As soon as he let Delilah cut his hair, his strength vanished, he lost his control over the situation, and was captured.
In our gospel reading from Luke, we are reminded not to worry… but I think in light of this discussion on self-control today, maybe a better way to understand this passage is to not be distracted.
In other words, focus on God and what God asks of you…
The key to self-control really is to allow God to have the central place in our lives. The key to self-control is to allow God to guide our every action.
It’s not that things like eating and drinking and sex are evil… but they can spiral out of control if we allow them to be the central objects of our lives.
In Proverbs 25:28 tells us what a life without self-control looks like… a city broken down without any walls
Self-control is a barrier – a protective fence – blinders to keep us focused on what is most important.
Something about how a horse wears blinders to focus only on what is in front of it.
So we must be reflective and honest about the things that put cracks in our barriers. What are the things that weasel their way in and distract us from doing God’s work in the world? What keeps us from being in control of our actions? And how can we turn those things over to God?
As J. Hampton Keathley puts it…
Samson, a man raised up by the Lord as a deliverer and judge over rebellious Israel. Samson strangled a lion; yet he could not strangle his own love. He burst the fetters of his foes; but not the cords of his own lusts. He burned the crops of others, and lost the fruit of his own virtue when burning with the flame kindled by a single woman.
It only takes one thing… one thing to lead us off of the beaten path. Let go of your desires. Turn your heart over to God. And seek his Kingdom. Amen.
Ty Reinders
January 20, 2015 at 8:12 pmWow. A good Word.
Katie Z.
January 20, 2015 at 8:16 pmThanks Ty