To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman.  When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife."  Judges 14:1-2 NIV

The marriage of Samson and the Philistine woman was doomed from the beginning.  First of all, Samson had married outside of his people, something God had specifically told the Israelites not to do – not because of race, but because those outside of Israel followed other gods.  But even if the woman had been Hebrew… if she had been the same kind of woman she was, there was still no way for the relationship to work.  The reason is simple… neither Samson nor his wife was committed to their relationship as husband and wife.  In fact, neither of them seemed to have any concept of what marriage is.

Samson’s wife was the first problem.  Giving in to the demands and threats of her people, she nagged and whined and cried until she coerced Samson into doing something that was against his better judgment.  Once she had succeeded in her plan, she betrayed her husband by giving the information to her people, rather than keeping a confidence within the marriage.  Samson, on the other hand, abdicated his responsibility as a husband when he allowed a nagging wife to cause him to betray his own good sense.  Samson was responsible for his own actions, and he was also responsible for his wife’s actions.  Allowing her to have her own way, even when he knew he shouldn’t, caused Samson to lose big time.  Neither Samson nor his wife felt any true commitment to their marriage, allowing outside influences to cause them to do injury to the relationship.  The result?  Samson left her, and she was given to one of his groomsmen at the wedding.

Every relationship - whether marriage or friendship or employer/employee or parent/child - requires a total 100% commitment from the parties involved.  For each kind of relationship, specific guidelines are set out in scripture.  When we allow our own selfish interests or influences from outside the relationship to warp our judgment and cause us to act in a detrimental fashion to that relationship, the relationship is doomed.

Think about the varied relationships in your life.  How committed are you to them?  Have you had enough interest in them to study how God wants you to handle them?  Are you swayed by outside influences, or do you seek council only from God on how to handle your relationships?  Decide today to commit 100% of yourself to your relationships – all of them - and to seek God’s wisdom in keeping them strong.