Samson is a great example of a Christian life filled with compromise. In the book of Judges, we learn that Samson’s supernatural strength came from God because of the Nazarite vow he was under. He was to live a life never touching anything ‘unclean’, never having strong drink, and never letting a razor touch his head. His life is an example of how we as Christians are in the world but separate from the world and how strong we can be as we dedicate our lives to Jesus.
Right away we read about his love and marriage to a Philistine woman named Delilah. The Philistines were fierce enemies of God’s people and didn’t believe in the one true God. This is not a good start for his life. Then Samson eats honey from a beehive in a dead lion’s carcass (dead bodies defiled people and toucing them was against his Nazarite vow). Finally, he was tricked by his wife who didn’t believe in God and hated God’s people. She found out the secret of his great strength and she told his enemies. His hair was chopped off while he slept, breaking another part of the vow and he lost all his supernatural strength.
Because of a series of compromises along the path of his life he ended up a mockery, in the hands of his enemies, his eyes gouged out, losing his great strength, and imprisoned as a slave.
God sets out guidelines for His people to follow. And we may not always understand how some of His commands make sense in this day and age, but we’re not to lean on our own understanding. Trusting that God has our best interest at heart helps us to live a faith-filled life and should prevent us from compromising our beliefs. Faith is everything to God, and compromise is nothing less than UNBELIEF. When we compromise our lives, water down Scripture, live for the temptations of the world satisfying every desire of our flesh, we’re saying that God’s ways aren’t best and therefore we live in rebellion and unbelief.
But God is a gracious God and loves a repentant heart. When the Holy Spirit convicts you of your compromised lukewarm life-style, repent and ask for God’s forgiveness. He will give it immediately! In fact at the end of Samson’s life, blinded and being mocked at a festival for his enemy’s pagan god, Samson asked God to fill him with strength one more time that he might honor God. So God was gracious and filled him with the strength to push the pillars down and topple a building, destroying the blasphemous festival.
Turn your heart fully to the Lord and follow Jesus with a fierce faith. Reject all temptation to live as the world does and put your full trust in the word of God and Jesus’ death on the cross.