The Allure of Delilah: Wealth, Prosperity, and Giving, Part 2

It’s alright to be rich. It really is. Just be very careful; very, very, very careful.

Wealth is a relative term and perspective. I’ve been to the country of Malawi four times. Malawi has some of the sweetest people I have ever met but is one of the poorest countries in Africa. With that perspective, everyone reading this is rich.

 

 I Timothy 6:17 

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

Paul acknowledges there are rich among them in the church. He doesn’t condemn them for being rich in this present world. However, he does warn them about conceit, mis-placed passions and the source of their hope. He warns them about  placing their trust in the riches of this world and forgetting the true source of wealth; God.

 

Samson

When I think about misplaced passions, I’m reminded of Samson. Samson was greatly blessed of God. The Spirit of blessings were upon him. But he allowed arrogance, conceit and self-confidence  to  deceive him.

Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.’ 

Then his father and his mother said to him, ‘Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines? But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, for she looks good to me.’ Judges 14:1-4.

Yikes! This is not going to end well.

Last time I shared my thoughts on the stages of wealth accumulation. Wealth accumulation is systematic; there’s a predictable pattern that is duplicatable. Almost anyone (in America) that is willing to pay the price, can do it. The stages are:

1. The Striving Stage – characterized by diligence and sacrifice.
2. The Acceleration Stage – characterized by growing confidence with the possibility of arrogance.
3. The Momentum Stage – characterized by access to ease and luxury with the possibility of misplacing hope upon riches.

Samson wasn’t known for great wealth but he was greatly blessed by God. In general, the abundant blessings of God can trick one into arrogance and overconfidence. In this lesson, we are discussing the temptation of arrogance from the blessings of wealth in the present world. We can learn from the (bad) example of Samson.

 

Both Sides

Samson married the beautiful yet evil and scheming Delilah. Her goal was to bring him down. He married her but he resisted giving her  his whole heart.  During this early stage of his marriage, he was straddling both sides of the fence: following God’s laws on one side and flirting with the world of Delilah on the other side. This is a dangerous place to reside.

Things turned ugly for Samson when he put his guard down and gave his heart to Delilah.

Delilah begged him and begged him to reveal his secret  and bare his heart. He finally caved in and gave himself away to her, disclosing the secrets of his heart. Delilah immediately went to the men of Philistine. Read the words that Delilah spoke:

When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.’ Judges 16:18.

 

Issues of the Heart

Paul warned us: don’t fix your hope on the uncertainty of riches rather than God. It’s about where you set your hope. It’s an issue of the heart.

That evening, Samson laid his head on the lap of Delilah and fell asleep. Laying his head on Delilah’s lap is a physical representation of his trust: his heart was surrendered to her. He placed himself in a vulnerable position, thus placing his trust and hope in her.

Metaphorically speaking,  while he was  in the position of vulnerability and trust, Delilah ripped his heart  out  and gave it to his enemies. Wealth will do the same thing, if given the chance. My friends, when it comes to the pursuit of wealth or any other worldly attainment, do not place your head in the lap of Delilah!

 

Longing For It!

Money is not the root of all sorts of evil. The  love  of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs, I Timothy 6:10. 

The love of money has the allure of Delilah. It looks good to the eye but it will rip your heart out and give it to the enemy.

Father, every good and perfect gift comes from You. You are the source of all blessings and You are kind enough to give us much. In our receiving, let us keep our hearts and passions set upon You and You alone. Amen.