Trust Me

Then the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not dried out, and she bound him with them. While men were lying in wait in an inner chamber, she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the bowstrings, as a strand of fiber snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strengths was not known. Judges 16: 8-9 NRSV

I am trying to get my head around how untrustworthy everyone in this story is and how they all know it.

Delilah tries to trick Samson - she asks him what would make him lose his strength. Her main goal is to have him captured so that she gets rich.

Samson, even though he is in love with her, does not tell her what makes him strong. This was smart. But why does he lie? Obviously, his lust...er...love is not enough to be honest even if it was just to say: "I'm not going to tell you."

Then Samson obviously falls asleep during one of his visits and Delilah ties him up. Then she cries out that his enemy is upon him. As the Philistines are only hiding in the next room, it is obviously that neither Delilah nor the Philistine lords trust what Samson has told her. They are testing him. They want to see if Samson has truly lost his strength.

Now Samson reveals that he has lied but it is obvious now that Delilah has lied. Samson now knows for sure that he cannot trust her. Does he know she is going to betray him or does he think she just wants to know his secret?

How trustworthy are the people in your life? In your church? At work? Would you share your secrets with any of them? In other words, how trustworthy are they? How trustworthy are you?

God, you know our deepest secrets, our strengths and our weaknesses. You want to hear those from our lips. May we share them now......In Jesus' name. Amen.

Question of the day: When have you betrayed someone's trust?

Copyright 2009 Amelia G. Sims