“Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, ‘See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver.’” Judges 16:4-6

Listen to Bruce Almighty

When I was in the eighth grade one of my best buddies was Bruce. Bruce was tall for his age and wide enough to be the right guard for the varsity football team. But Bruce didn’t play sports. He didn’t have time. Bruce worked on his dad’s farm.

Every September we’d start school with an empty desk where Bruce was supposed to sit. The teacher would call the roll and then pause, listening for Bruce to say “here,” but Bruce was never “here.” Not on the first day and not for many days afterwards, either. While the rest of us struggled with math problems and how to conjugate a verb (which David Ashworth thought was something you did on a date), Bruce was in his dad’s field picking tobacco.

When October rolled around and Bruce finally did show up for school, we’d buddy up and challenge the other kids in my class to a game of “chicken.” I was small and weighed only slightly more than a regurgitated verb, so I’d sit on Bruce’s shoulders. Someone would say “go” and Bruce would ram into the “horses” while I grabbed the riders by the hair and yanked them off. We never lost.

Bruce didn’t know much but he knew he was bigger than the other boys in his grade. He also knew school wasn’t for him. He dropped out half way through our freshman year of high school. I never saw him again.

Samson reminds me of Bruce. Big, confident and too dumb to know how to use the gift God gave him. Like Bruce, Samson loved throwing his weight around, adored the attention, and didn’t have a clue when it came to women. Samson thought his might was his strength but his real power came from God.

Aren’t we all like Samson at times? Desperate for approval, hungry for compliments? We strut and boast, seeking the applause of others rather than the companionship of God.

“See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him.” There may be many ways to take down men like Samson and Bruce, but one seems certain. Lead them away from God and His wisdom and the strong will fall.

What gift has God given you? Use it for His glory and, though you may stumble, you’ll never fall.