What happens when you play with fire? Eventually you get burned, right? This is the sad story of Samson’s life, and it is the testimony of many Christians today. When we continue to play around with temptation and sin, sooner or later it is going to come back to get it. This is what we see in Samson’s life in Judges 16. Judges 16:16-17 says, “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 Nazarite 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.'”
Samson continued to play around with temptation. He was a man driven by his physical desires. Up to this point, he had gotten away with it for the most part. However, this time it was going to end up costing him his life.
Samson needs to serve as an example for us of the dangers of playing around with temptation. The problem is, we do something and we get away with it once, and then we do it again and again until we think it is no big deal. Then, one day it comes back to get us in a big, and oftentimes painful way. Sooner or later, our sin will find us out and we will pay a price for it. By God’s grace, He has given us a few ways that we can flee the temptations. First, as His child, God has given us His Spirit to live inside of us. We can pray and ask God for His help to flee the temptation. Second, God has given us His Word. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that with every temptation, God will make a way of escape. This is one of the purposes of memorizing Scripture, so that we will recognize the temptation, but also know how to handle it. Finally, God has given us other brothers and sisters in Christ. Like it or not, we all need accountability in our lives. When we share our struggles with our brothers and sisters, God can use them to help us experience victory. The most foolish thing we could do, which is often the thing we do, is we try to conceal it, downplay it, or tackle it on our own. We have to know, this is a recipe for disaster. Don’t fight temptation alone. God has given us weapons to wage in this war. Let’s use them so that we can glorify Him by turning from our sinful desires and living to please Him.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin