“What’s your ‘Delilah’?”
Kryptonite is to Superman, what Delilah was to Samson. It’s debilitating. It’s destroying. It’s death. Today, I asked the prisoners, “Sexually speaking, what’s your Delilah?”
I explained that, sexually, your “Delilah” could be a proclivity, an attraction, a fetish, or a fancy. It could be that girl — your first, or the one you just broke up with. It could be that song that takes you down memory lane. It could be a favorite fantasy. You know, that one that you run to constantly for what you think is comfort. It could be that porn and masturbation habit, or that favorite website. It could be another man’s girlfriend or wife, or that hug you anticipate all week long from your sister-in-Christ at church. It could be a sexual event that scarred you emotionally or physically — that molestation, that assault, or that abuse. It could be a fear that you’re inadequate, or a shame that you’re no good. To varying degrees, we all have our Delilahs.
What makes it a “Delilah” is that it’s destructive and deadly. It’s sin. The story of Samson and Delilah is found in chapter sixteen of the the book of Judges. Read it in a few different translations. Look closely at the decisions Samson was making. Also know that every decision Samson made was a reflection of what was going on in his soul (FYI: the Soul = our Will (Doer), Intellect (Thinker), and Emotions (Feeler)). Verse 16 points our that Delilah “vexed” Samson’s SOUL unto death. To vex means to plague, torment, distress, or persecute. And then, verse 20 reveals that Samson didn’t even know that the Lord had departed from him. How damaged must his soul have been?
While examining this passage one time, we had one prisoner scream out, “This is foolishness! Why couldn’t Samson see what was happening?!! He must’ve been an idiot!” To which I gently responded, “Said the man in orange coveralls.” (Blue coveralls are for pre-trial prisoners. Orange is for post-trial.) At that, this young man did chuckle a bit and in all humility he remembered that he was serving time for sexual convictions. This moment opened the door for each of us to examine the “Delilahs” in our lives.
As I challenged the men, I also challenge you to do an an honest, personal inventory of your “Delilahs” — the sexual things that compete with God in your life and your well-being. I also challenge you to love others enough to ask them “What are your Delilahs?”