“And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron” (Judges 16:3).
TEXT — Judges 16:1-9
Message
Many times, people appear to selfishly and arrogantly arrogate to themselves the exaggerated influence and power that are given to them by God or a higher authority. This misplaced and elevated sense of importance makes them resort to self-management and self-conceit. Very often, the result of this posture is a disaster with far-reaching consequences.
This was the experience of Samson who was raised by God to be a judge in Israel. He was a Nazarite, which means he was fully set apart solely for the service of God. And he was greatly successful in the assignments. But it would seem that the more successful he was, the more careless and self-conceited he became. He depended on his raw, physical strength, and ignored his reliance on and devotion to God. No record of his time of worship or raising an altar for God. Samson became vulnerable to the sin of immorality until he landed on the lap of Delilah, the wily and treacherous Philistine woman. She got into a deal with the rulers of their nation to entice Samson to reveal the source of his great strength so they could neutralise him.
Blinded by lust, Samson soon began telling lies and making jokes about his God-given power. It must remain the greatest marvel of all time that Samson did not consider it odd that Delilah seemed focused on the source of the greatest gift he received from God.
Our gifts from God are meant to honour Him, render acceptable service to the Lord, and serve humanity. And because we receive gifts from God, there is no room for boasting, showmanship, or playing to the gallery. Retaining the gifts for enduring service and usefulness requires discipline, discretion, and deliberate restraints in the face of provocation and temptation to misuse the gifts.
Thought for the day
A gift brings a lift to the wise and a drift to the unwise.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
