If you can avoid the temptation you will avoid the sin
Published: Mon, 06/17/24
Updated: Mon, 06/17/24
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Sessions Include: Think Ahead, Lesson #1 Think Ahead, Lesson #2 Think Ahead, Lesson #3 Think Ahead, Lesson #4 Think Ahead, Lesson #5 Think Ahead, Lesson #6 Think Ahead, Lesson #7 Think Ahead, Lesson #8 |
If I ask you what comes to mind when I say “Michael Jordan,” you probably think “basketball.” I say “Warren Buffett,” and you think “money.” I say “Helen Mirren,” and you think “acting.” So when I say “Samson,” what do you think? The answer should have been this: Oh, wow. He’s, like, the Bible’s superhero! Awesome strength. Incredible hair! Amazing opportunities to serve God and protect people. But that’s not the answer. Samson is not actually a hero in the Bible. He’s a cautionary tale. He’s an example of what not to do. Why? Because Samson put the line in the wrong place. Samson’s story starts with his parents dedicating him to the Lord and God blessing him. He has massive strength and is a strong leader who confronts people who do wrong. Then it all goes off the rails. Samson falls in love with Delilah, who was a Philistine. She asks Samson to tell her the secret of his great strength. Samson messes with Delilah, telling her he can be tied with “bowstrings.” She has men come and tie him with whatever those are, but he easily breaks free. Delilah complains to Samson that she feels foolish and wants to know the truth. Um, time to break up, Samson? But no, he continues to toy with her, claiming he can be tied with new ropes this time. Delilah has Philistines come and rope him up, but that doesn’t work. Delilah is mad, again. Kinda suspicious by now, don’t you think, Samson? Once again, no. He tries to calm her down by telling her if his hair is braided, he’ll lose his strength. So while he sleeps, Delilah weaves his gorgeous locks, but that doesn’t work either. When Samson wakes up with his hair braided, you’d think he’d say, “We’re done! But can I still share your Netflix account?” But he doesn’t. Delilah has now officially worn him down with her persistence. He’s running out of clever answers. The strong man is about to show his ultimate weakness—character. Samson finally tells Delilah the truth, revealing his secret that his hair should not be cut. So she has the top barber of the Philistines come to give Samson a fresh cut while he is asleep. When he wakes up, the soldiers take him captive, gouge out his eyes, and lead him to a dingy prison cell. As Samson sat blind and shackled, you know he had to ask, “How in the world did this happen to me?” Been there? That’s the question I asked when I woke up the morning after on my road trip and looked at myself in the mirror. We ask that same question when our lives turn out nothing like we’d hoped. How in the world did this happen to me? The answer for Samson is the answer for us. It’s where we move the line. Think about Samson’s story. Why was he even interested in a Philistine woman? God had forbidden his people from marrying outside of their faith. And the Philistines weren’t just outside his faith, they were the enemies. And what’s up with the hair, Samson? His entire life Samson knew that the secret of his great strength was not to cut his hair. But when Delilah, an enemy Philistine, asked Samson how to take away his strength, he eventually told her the secret about his hair. Samson knew there was a line—“Don’t marry someone outside your faith” and “Don’t cut your hair”—but he chose to walk as close to the line as he could, and when the moment came, he couldn’t resist the temptation and fell into sin. Think back to the last few times you caved when tempted. I bet it started by walking too close to the line. Just like me. I never should have gone to the party. But when I did, I never should have listened to those girls. Then I never should have had that first beer. I went to the line, crossed it, and kept going. I know exactly what it feels like to wake up with a bad haircut, so to speak. Few people plan to wreck their lives. But even fewer people plan not to. Again, you are not most people. Instead of being unwise, unaware, and unalert, we are making up our minds to be ready for the moment of temptation. We are pre-deciding to move the line.
Craig Groeschel, Think Ahead: 7 Decisions You Can Make Today for the God-Honoring Life You Want Tomorrow (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024), 7–9. We have just released a 8-week study on the topic: Think Ahead by Craig Groeschel. You can get it on Amazon. It is also available as part of Good Questions Have Groups Talking.
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