Judges 16:18-21 – “When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, she sent for the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me his secret.” So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands.  ¹⁹ She made him go to sleep on her lap and then called a man in to shave off the seven braids of his hair.  She made him vulnerable and his strength left him.  ²⁰ She said, “The Philistines are here, Samson!” He woke up and thought, “I will do as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him.  ²¹ The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes.  They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains.  He became a grinder in the prison.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, I heard a warning.  The account of Samson and Delilah produced some challenging thoughts.

My focus was not on the sin of fornication, although it is important.  My focus was on a danger that is not uncommon.  Samson allowed his physical desire and his ego to bring him into bondage.

If we dabble with sin, we open the door to deception and corruption.  We give the devil control, and as he controls, he corrupts.  Samson knew the power of God.  He had experienced it.  He has first-hand knowledge of God’s power.  He presumed upon God, and through the open door to the devil, he toyed with evil.  He had been used by God mightily.  He presumed his specialness.

Samson toyed with Delilah, but his continued interaction with sin wore down his resistance.  He trusted wickedness and gave his strength to sin in a moment of weakness.  He told Delilah the secret or the condition that produced his strength.

That’s why we are told to shun the very appearance of evil.  That’s why we come out from among them.  That’s why we submit to God and resist the devil.  That’s why we bring every thought captive to Jesus.  The more we indulge in sin, the less dangerous it appears, and over time, it erodes our resistance and ultimately controls us.  You can’t play with fire without getting burned.

Multitudes in the church today allow sin to become part of their lives, thinking they are so special to God that they are immune to its consequences.  Things once considered sins no longer bother us.  Profanity on TV and in life does not make us uneasy and convict us.  Sins of the flesh don’t faze many.  Creating idols of the heart no longer breaks our hearts.

Like Samson, we presume that we are special because we have experienced God’s power in the past.  God’s power without purity pollutes the mind and penetrates the heart, poisoning the soul.  Purity is the ingredient that enables us to have God’s power without the pollution of sin.  Power alone is not evidence of favor.

Seek God above all, and His power for His purpose will be manifest.  God’s power, peace, provision, protection, and presence are available to the pure of heart.  It’s not power we are to seek but purity and purpose.

Lord, please help us not to trust in the flesh but to be totally committed to the Spirit in our lives.