Guard Your Gifts

Introduction

Samson’s fall teaches us that God can restore us after we have allowed ourselves to be compromised spiritually. This story of a mighty man experiencing a mighty fall, is not unique to Samson. Many of us can relate to Samson’s story. Living blissfully and in ignorance of his negligence, he is blindsided by the consequences of his irresponsible and sinful behavior. While in good health, having a good time, this dream turns into a nightmare and Samson has no one to blame, but Samson. Many of us can relate to the crushing blow that Samson experienced. Samson was betrayed by a person very close to him. Samson was not betrayed by Delilah. Samson was not betrayed by God. Samson was betrayed by Samson. By continually compromising himself as a Nazarite, Samson allowed the enemy to tear him down and take his strength.

What Compromise Looks Like

Samson’s fall from grace was a result of Samson’s compromise on commitment to the Lord. In , an angel of the Lord appeared to Samson’s mother and declared that although she was barren and had not borne any children, she was to conceive and bear a son. () Since before he was born Samson was to be a Nazarite. That means he was to be consecrated or separated to the Lord. A Nazarite could be male or female. He or she could not have any strong drink nor were they allowed to shave their heads.

​ ESV1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, 3 he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. 4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.

Needless to say, the behavior that Samson exhibited was not becoming of a Nazarite. In verse one, Samson went to Gaza. He saw a prostitute, and for lack of better words, he spent some time with her. In verse 4, Samson was hypnotized by a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. Samson had an issue that many great men have had. But like the many before him and the many after him, he would have to suffer the consequences of compromising his faith, in the name of a good time. A Nazarite was supposed to be Holy. Holy, not better than anybody. Holy, not above anybody. Holy, not perfect. His life and his body belonged to the Lord and they were to be reserved and used for God’s purposes. Samson betrayed his oath, and in betraying his oath he compromised his faith. Whenever we use our bodies, our gifts, and our lives for purposes that God has not intended we are compromising our faith.

Spiritual Compromise

The danger of compromise is that often times you don’t actually notice its affects until it’s too late. The reality is that each time we compromise in our commitment to God our relationship with him is deteriorated. The same thing happens in our human relationships. Each time we compromise, whether we realize it or not, we are causing some long term affect. Samson’s loss of strength was a result of this compromise. He lost strength physically, and spiritually. While he was enjoying the moment, each time he compromised his body, he compromised his faith. He was forfeiting his relationship with God for something that was temporary. We are often unaware of how far we’ve strayed from God, until we don’t feel God anymore. Samson compromised spiritually and that made him spiritually weak. Spiritual weakness is a consequence of being separated from God. Perhaps you’ve experienced this feeling of estrangement from God. Even though we sometimes allow ourselves to be compromised by the enemy, God can restore our strength. Any one of us can be compromised if we are not careful. This scene in Samson’s story illustrates how easily it can happen, and how gracious God is in restoring our strength.

I. Entertaining The Enemy

The first mistake Samson made was entertaining the enemy. If we put ourselves in compromising situations long enough, eventually we will be compromised. The road to spiritual decay or atrophy has a definite beginning. In hindsight we have the opportunity to look at Samson’s end and trace it back to where it began. It’s too bad Samson did not have this privilege in the verse of chapter 16, else he might have been more diligent in avoiding compromising situations. There are many instances in my own personal life where I could have avoided harmful distractions had I been able to see the last verse when verse 1 began. In verse 18 Samson finally succumbs to Delilah’s wishes and he tells her his whole heart. Samson finally gave in and gave away the secret to his strength, which made him vulnerable and susceptible to being overcome by the enemy. All of those small compromises since verse one had brought Samson to this point. Have you ever done something that makes you say later, “I can’t believe I did that” ? This is that moment for Samson. This single event maybe the most significant in terms of leading to his defeat, but it isn’t the only one. Have you ever looked back and asked yourself, how did I get in this financial mess? Or have you ever asked yourself how did I end up in this mess of a relationship? Or perhaps you’ve asked yourself how did I get in this spiritual low point in my life? Odds are it was not a single action that got you there. It was a culmination of compromises or bad decisions that got you there. This is the danger in putting ourselves in compromising situations, eventually we’ll dip into places we never dreamt of going. Samson had slowly been seduced until he was at a point of compromise that would compromise his physical and spiritual strength. When we entertain the enemy we run the risk of being seduced into submission. The problem is that often times we enjoy the process of being seduced so much that we don’t even realize it is happening. Samson committed a grave sin in allowing a razor to come upon his head, but he made a major mistake before that.

II. Be Careful With Your Heart

Samson let his guard down, and in doing so he told Delilah his whole heart. Because I am a person who has no trouble communicating how I feel about something especially when I am passionate about it, I had trouble understanding how this could have been a bad thing. Initially, I thought Samson should have been commended for this level of transparency. In the 21st Century men are encouraged to share their feelings and expose their most private places of their heart. But the trouble with what Samson did was that he opened the door for the enemy to exploit him where he was most vulnerable. tells us to guard our hearts with all vigilance. In that verse Solomon is referring to what we allow to enter our hearts or our minds. The word heart there is a little bit different than the word heart used in verse 18. In verse 18 the word heart is used to describe a person’s inner disposition and this includes a person’s weaknesses. Samson told Delilah his weaknesses, which means he failed to make sure that his weaknesses were not accessible to his enemy. It seems that whenever we get serious about growing our faith or our relationship with God, we do a much better job of taking every precaution so as to not even allow ourselves to be tempted by anything that might set us back. When you are really serious about protecting your heart and now allowing yourself to be hurt again by a serial abuser, you block the number. When you get serious about your spending habits, you cut up the credit card. When you get serious about getting yourself back on track spiritually or professionally you block out all distractions. You get off social media. You delete certain apps on your phone. You take every precaution necessary to ensure that your weaknesses do not become your downfall. This is what Samson did not do. By disclosing his entire heart Samson was essentially inviting the enemy in.

III. Steward God’s Gifts

Samson’s failure to properly protect his heart was partly due to an inaccurate appraisal of what God had given him.Stewarding God’s gifts means understanding the value of what God has given you. Samson disclosed his heart, and ultimately forfeited his great strength for 1,100 pieces of silver. In Samson’s mind, he was simply appeasing his lover. He had no idea of the long term consequences of his actions. He was unaware that the Philistines had bribed Delilah in order to get to Samson’s strength. Samson put himself in a compromising situation partly due to the fact that he did not cherish the gift that God had given him. Faithful stewards must guard the gift that God has entrusted to them. These were Paul’s words to Timothy as he prepared to depart from his pupil.

​ ESV3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

In this particular case, Samson failed to fortify himself against the enemy. As Christians we are taught to give freely. This principle applies to our benevolence, our service, and our love. We should not be stingy Christians, but we should be wise Christians. We should give without expecting anything in return. This is not about Samson giving too much. The issue here is about Samson giving the wrong way. His fall began with him first and foremost aligning himself with the wrong people. This seems to be the case for us. Getting off track is usually much easier when we surround ourselves with people who are already off track. We are to serve all people, but we are not to be influenced by all people. Allowing people who have no understanding of our spiritual background to influence us will prevent us from being good stewards. People who do not have it in their spiritual DNA to attend worship service on Sunday morning will not understand that it’s not a good idea to hang all night Saturday night into Sunday morning. People who do not understand your faith or your commitment to the Lord will not encourage you to treat your body as the Lord’s temple. Delilah and Samson were from two completely different backgrounds. However, it is not their difference in background that made Delilah a negative influence on Samson’s spiritual life. It was Delilah’s aspirations that made them a bad match. She was only interested in securing herself financially. She did not have a God conscience; therefore Samson ended up putting himself in danger by giving too much to the wrong person.

What we must guard ourselves from

We must guard ourselves against people, situations, and things that do not have a God agenda. Samson’s life was dedicated to God since before he was born. Samson’s hair was a symbol of this commitment to God. Samson’s strength was a gift from God. It is not Delilah’s fault that she did not understand these things. It was Samson’s fault for allowing her to compromise those things. Whenever we put ourselves in a situation that antagonizes or challenges our commitment to God we put ourselves in a bad situation. We have to live in this world. Not everyone we come in contact with will have the same morals, conscience, faith, or commitment we do. It’s not their job to protect what God has given us. It’s our job to protect what God has given us. You don’t have to turn your nose up at people or build a wall and separate yourself from people. You can love people and serve people without compromising who you are. Whenever you are put in a situation where you may be compromised all you have to do is simply tell them:“I’m not better than you, I’m better than that.”

What we must guard ourselves for

Most importantly we must remember why we are guarding ourselves. The purpose of the Nazarite vow is never stated explicitly in the Bible, but what we do know is that people typically took this vow when they were looking forward to an answered prayer. If we think about the act of consecration in general, then we understand that the motivation to dedicate our bodies and our lives is so that we can be used by God. For as long as Samson kept the vow, he had his strength. But as soon as he abandoned his commitment to God, the gift that God gave him abandoned him. We must guard ourselves against compromising situations so that the Lord can use us. We must guard ourselves against compromising situations so that we can experience the Lord’s strength.

Conclusion

1. I'm gonna live so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime! I'm gonna live so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!

2. I'm gonna work so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime! I'm gonna work so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!

3. I'm gonna pray so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime! I'm gonna pray so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!

4. I'm gonna sing so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime! I'm gonna sing so God can use me anywhere, Lord, anytime!