Years ago, marriage arrangements were supervised, but in our culture it’s common for men and women to jump into relationships and make their own decisions regarding marriage without considering advice from friends and family. As a result, I often receive prayer requests for troubled marriages.
Marriage is the single most important contract and commitment we will ever make in life. Why enter without the consent and approval of those who know us best? Why risk the most important decision we will ever make to our own intellect?
Because love is blind. At least according to Shakespeare.
1 Corinthians 13:4 doesn’t say “love is patient, love is blind,” so I set out to search the scriptures for truths about love’s weaknesses. Is Shakespeare’s slogan grounded in truth or is it merely a romantic notion endorsed to excuse a lack of discernment?
When it came to love, Samson was blind…literally. But not at first. It took awhile for him to go completely blind. His first mistake was discounting the advice of his parents, but ultimately he failed in the marriage department because he was easily manipulated. Physically, Samson was the strongest man alive, and yet, in his soul he was weak and vulnerable. First he marries a Philistine lady, bribes his bride with a riddle in exchange for a new wardrobe, goes on a killing spree and then losses his wife to one of his groomsmen. Can’t blame her. Sounds like Samson needed an Anger Management course.
Next he falls in love with Delilah. From day one she begs him to disclose the secret of his strength. At first, Samson humors her with untruths. Judges 16:16 says, “she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was vexed (annoyed) unto death.” Basically she nagged him until he finally gave in. Her pleas were so persistent that the incredible hulk was defeated by a woman’s persistent words.
Delilah means feeble. Interesting…that’s what Samson became. He lost his self-restraint. He let whatever guard he had over his heart completely evaporate. Consider James 1:14. “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.”
Enticed comes from the Greek word, exelkō, which means to draw out. It is used as a metaphor to describe how game is lured out of safety by hunters and fishers. Likewise, men and women are lured from the safety of self-restraint by seductive words.
Words are hard to resist, especially in romance. Charm can be deceitful (Proverbs 31:30). We are most vulnerable when we are not surrounded by the safety that a wise counsel of friends provides.
The old saying, “Love is blind,” really means that our discernment can be easily compromised in romantic relationships, but the way Shakespeare puts it makes it sound romantic. Being blindsided in romance is a dangerous place to be.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you or someone else been blindsided by love? What caused your discernment to be compromised? At what point would you say Samson’s discernment was compromised?
What a great article! I love your perspective on Love is Blind. Identifying Sampson as a key figure added depth to your message. Spiritual discernment is described by Francis Frangipane as “the grace to see into the unseen. It is a gift of the Spirit to perceive the realm of the spirit.” I’m understanding how the veil of pride prevented Christ from revealing to me my own sin and that of another. As I’ve learned to grasp my own need for God’s mercy and the depth of His grace, I can more compassionately minister grace to others. Knowing that discernment is not an act of the mind, helps me chase after the true nature of my own needs and that of others and remember that love is blind. I had to rehearse this lesson recently and it wasn’t the first. Sampson is not the only one that let his guard down and chased after his own heart. Our hope is in Christ, Pick up the sword of the Spirit and war against the spirit of Jezebel. That is our real enemy.
I really enjoyed reading your article and the example of Samson is so applicable to your point. I think any one of us can
be blind-sighted at any time. Satan does seem to attack most when we are going through a time of fatigue, depression, or we have unwittingly let our guard down. As Christians, we need to constantly work on being preemptive in stating our values, and the areas we will not compromise on, or Satan will catch us unaware. Any area we are “wishy washy” or easily tempted, and not using means (the Word of God) to protect our integrity, can easily become an area of compromise, and we are entangled in the web of deception drawn by our own desires before we know what hit us. I speak from experience, and have majorly kicked myself for being manipulated so easily. It’s an area that all of us need to surrender to God, and gird ourself continually with the power of the Word to withstand and escape any kind of temptation thrown our way.
Thanks Christy for the insight. Your writing is, as always, refreshingly honest and helpful!
wow Donna and Barbara…great insight and how true it is that we need to determine IN ADVANCE what we won’t compromise on! I love the acroymn “HALT”. It helps remind me not make decisions when I’m most vulnerable: When I’m hungry, angry, lonely or tired, Satan can really catch me off guard.