Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him.
-Judges 16:19
“What was I thinking?” Maybe Samson said something like this to himself as he sat in prison. In his weakened state, he could not even break the bronze shackles which held him. The Bible’s strongest man was now weak, helpless and blind.
I’m amazed that he told Delilah the secret to his strength. After all, she did try every method Samson gave her to subdue him. Didn’t he realize that she would cut his hair? Once his secret was revealed, his strength was taken. He was captured and his eyes gouged out. Samson was blind, however, long before anyone touched his eyes. He was blinded by love, lust, passion, or a combination of the three.
Every man has a certain soft spot for a beautiful woman. I learned of this vulnerability early in my life. Carrie Owens, my first grade “girlfriend,” transferred to another school. I remember grabbing my yearbook, climbing my favorite tree in the front yard, and weeping as I looked at her picture. I think I even sang to her 1×1 inch black-and-white photo. I guess this was quite sophisticated romantic behavior for a six year old. I did, of course, recover (maybe I was distracted from my grief by the latest cartoon); but the soft spot had been hit. It wouldn’t be the last time.
No matter how strong or level-headed I try to be, the vulnerability remains. I can get hurt. When this happens to me, I get the feeling of a lump in my throat. The sensation instantly takes me back to younger days—teenage years and beyond. I’ve learned to be more careful, but there’s no way to protect myself completely. Under the right circumstances, I can be reduced to a sobbing, lovesick, helpless six year old.
I guess this is every single man’s dilemma. We want to be strong, yet we can be so vulnerable. We’ve all been hurt. Sometimes the wounds are self-inflicted by our own foolish choices. Sometimes it’s just an inevitable part of life and the quest for love. Like it or not, most of us bear Samson’s scars.
(This post may get deleted at any moment—I may lose my nerve and decide that it’s just too sappy and corny).
Nah, don’t delete this.
Just let this stay. It sure does remind us that we have weak spots.
Please don’t delete this yet, there might be someone who can identify with the experience, yet reluctant to owe up on how he really feels inside for a number of reasons…I just hope that by reading this post he’ll come to terms with it, and in part start the healing process.
Hi Kevin, i learned about your blog at the PEX forum.
Please don’t delete this entry, it’s not corny/sappy, i can completely identify with it, especially the part about foolish choices.
I’m hurting right now because some very foolish choices. I’m also so confused why women outside of church (“unbelievers”)treat and appreciate me better than most of my so-called “sisters” in church. Ooops, sorry i’m starting a rant here.
Well, bye for now. I’ll definitely keep on reading your blog.
Anonymous,
Bad experiences tend to make us think that “they” are all alike (whoever “they” may happen to be).
One thing I can tell you for sure is that character and commitment to Christ really varies a lot. This is true even within the church. Sometimes folks that grow up in the church take the things of God for granted.
Thanks for reading!
really? you guys hurt this way? thanks for showing your soft spot thru this entry. if you delete this, you keep the macho myth going. because you wrote this, we girl readers would think many times first before hurting any guy’s feelings.
was going thru your archives and was reading about the gospel of Judas, went astray and stumbled on this….
It’s not sappy or corny. It shows that other side of men that’s often hidden, the not so rough, not so tough, not so emotionally detached side.
dont delete this.. it’s neither sappy nor corny..
this is not applicable to men only but also to women.. all of us have samson’s scar.. all of us have the vulnerability to engage in foolish things because we are blinded by our affection towards something/someone.. no matter how mature we are, we go back to being kids when we get hurt.. =(
nope please don’t delete this…this is a great way to show a true heart in you…and it makes a lot of sense in me….