"Worldliness is a spirit, a temperament, an attitude of the soul. It is a life without high callings, life devoid of lofty ideals. It is a gaze always horizontal and never vertical."
-John Henry Jowett

Because we each live in a body of flesh and that flesh wants to experience the pleasures this world has to offer, we have a tendency to be drawn toward what the world holds up to us as enjoyment and fulfillment. But that's deception.

We all want to be accepted and loved by others. We want to take part in what we perceive to be "the good life." This is why we must keep our flesh under control and base our perception of what constitutes the good life solely on God's Word.

I want to show you a powerful example of a mighty man of God who, through his love for the things of the world, fell into deception and was ultimately destroyed. That man was Samson, and through his life we can learn some things that can keep us from making similar mistakes.

In Chapter 16 of Judges, we find the spectacular but sad story of Samson's death. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice.

And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, "Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house stands, that I may lean upon them."

Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about 3,000 men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, "O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." The Philistines had blinded Samson when they took him captive.

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead, which he slew at his death, were more than they which he slew in his life.
(Judg. 16:23-30)

In the past some teachers have used this passage to make the point that God's justice always triumphs and that no matter how bad the situation looks, you can always come out on top in God.

That is a wonderful truth, but it is not the lesson I take away from this account. If you study Samson's life in chapters 13 through 16, you see that the Spirit of the Lord moved mightily throughout his life with manifestations of supernatural strength.

So what did Samson, who once slew one thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey do wrong? How did he end up being captured, chained, blinded, and then mocked and humiliated?

Although Samson wrought a great victory for God at his death, he nonetheless died prematurely. So why did Samson, an anointed deliverer of the children of God, only rule Israel as a judge for 20 years? Why did Samson die so young?

If you have read the story, you know that the answer to these questions is deception - deception in the form of a woman named Delilah. I am convinced God recorded this story to illustrate the consequences of opening a door to deception.

It is important to understand that Samson had a special covenant with God. As a Nazarite, he had vowed not to touch any unclean thing, partake of wine or strong drink or cut his hair. (You can read about the Nazarite covenant in Numbers 6:1-21.)

If the part about Samson's hair strikes you as peculiar, you need to know that hair is often used in the Bible as a type of the glory of God. Samson's hair was to be a statement to all who saw him that the presence and glory of God was on his life. His vow not to cut it represented the priority and importance of that covenant of glory.

Samson's first mistake is recorded in Judges 14, when he moves to a Philistine city - which is a type of the world - and marries a Philistine woman. This action is today equivalent to a believer's becoming unequally yoked with an unbeliever. In the context of God's laws and his Nazarite vow, Samson's new bride actually defiled him and made him unclean.

By the time we reach Chapter 16, Samson has gone to Gaza, another Philistine city, where he sleeps with a harlot. And from there he is off to yet another Philistine city, where he falls in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah.

Delilah is of course the woman who cut Samson's hair, thereby defeating him. Now, if you didn't read the whole account, you might think that Samson was just an unfortunate victim of Delilah's deception. But the Scriptures make it clear that his fidelity to his vow had gone by the wayside long before.

Can you see how Samson took God's anointing for granted? He had ample opportunity to escape destruction. Doesn't it appear as if Samson treated the whole thing as some sort of game? Why didn't he see the danger that is so obvious to us as we read about it today? I can answer those questions in one word - deception.

It was deception brought about by his desire for an ungodly relationship. You simply cannot compromise your covenant as a way of life and expect to be led by the Spirit of God or experience His anointing.

You must examine the priorities you have set in your life. What is your number-one goal? What do you spend the most time pursuing? What plans in your schedule do you never cancel? How are you using your money?

Are the resources of your life being used to pursue something you want, or are you seeking to promote God's plan? Are you loving - giving yourself to - the world and its pursuits, or are you loving - giving yourself to - God and His pursuits?

If you will make knowing, loving and serving God with all of your life's resources - your time, talent and money - your top priority, then by the hand of God, good things will come. You will close the door to the deception of loving the world, or the Samson syndrome. And Satan will no longer be able to use the people and things of this world to deceive you.

Source: Doorways to Deception by Mac Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers