“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17
Yesterday, we discussed the anger test in Samson’s life. Today’s test goes hand-in-hand with that test as there is a direct correlation between the two. The next test we will examine is the relationship test.
How did Samson do with his relationships? Terribly. His inability to have any form of a healthy relationship was a direct result of his anger. In romantic relationships, he did not prioritize his own wife and ended up abandoning her. He messed around with a prostitute and, later, a black widow of a woman named Delilah. She seduced him and ultimately betrayed him, leading to his arrest where he became a blind prisoner of war. Even in friendship, he failed miserably. Throughout the entire story of his life, there is not one person who’s alongside him. In Judges 15, it says that Samson’s own people, the Israelites, gave him over to the Philistines. He may have been in a position of leadership, but they did not recognize him as their leader.
If you’re married, you must prioritize your spouse and invest in your relationship with them. It’s also vital to have friends that will come alongside you and help you walk through this life. If you’re a loner, you will eventually self-destruct. We all have blind spots and are capable of self-destructing in our worst moments, but if you have the right people around you, they’re going to save you from you.
The moral of Samson’s story is that the most dangerous person to you is you. We need good people around us. However, I would say that it’s not enough to have good people around you; you also need to be willing to listen to them. If Samson had some good men around him that he was willing to listen to, I bet his life would have ended much differently.
Not only are relationships important, but so is leadership. Stay tuned for test number eight tomorrow.
Do you have some good people around you, and are you willing to listen to them if they give you advice or gentle correction?
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