Title: Wasted Life / Judges 14:1-10
Contents
Text Judges 14:1-20
title wasted life
In our country, as we become prosperous, we waste a lot. We use a lot of disposable products, and there are many things we throw away food. Waste is the use of good resources effectively and in vain. We can only live once. Time passes as quickly as an arrow. Life is so precious and precious, but it is easy to waste your life.
In today's text, we see Samson who wasted his life despite having good parents, a good status, and good strength, and lived a miserable life. Samson is a man of great potential, and he squandered it all. The text clearly shows how Samson wasted his life.
Why would you live a wasted life?
First, it is because we live ignoring the authority of the Word.
Samson lived ignoring God's Word. He insisted on marrying a foreign woman, and even though he was a Nazirite, he touched the body of a lion (verses 8-9) and had a drinking party (verse 10). He disregarded the authority of the Word and lived in complete disregard.
Our life is a one-time life. That's why it's best to live right from the start. It is living according to the word of God. God is a life guide expert. Only when we are guided by God's Word can our souls arrive at a safe harbor.
If we ignore the Word, do not follow its teachings, and live according to our own thoughts and stubbornness, our lives will be wasted in the sight of God. If you do not obey the Word properly, you will not be able to use it properly even if you have great power and resources like Samson.
I hope that all of us do not end with knowing the Word, but practically respect and obey the Word so that we can live our one and only life meaningfully and rewardingly.
Second, because we do what we see.
Samson’s standard of conduct was ‘whatever is good in my eyes’”. “I saw a woman” (verse 1), “I love her” (verse 2), and “I rejoiced in her” (verse 7). The other is that it doesn't matter anyway. Neither the parents nor even God cared about them. My feelings, my feelings, my thoughts were his everything. In the end, he couldn't even get her as a wife (verse 20). And later, my hair was cut off, my eyes were falling out, and I was left with no strength to turn a millstone. It is the tragedy of those who do what is pleasing to the eye.
In today's era, objective and absolute standards continue to crumble. However, as Christians, there is an absolute unchanging standard. The standard of our Christian life is faith and the Word. Christians live with their feet on the ground, but they belong to God. Therefore, the principles of life are fundamentally different from those of unbelievers. As Christians, we don't know who our commander is and if we follow any orders, we will eventually die.
Even from now on, you must live according to the principle of faith and not live a wasted life.
Third, it is because we live an unrestrained life.
Samson lived a life of unrestrainedness that could hardly be believed to be the actions of a man set apart by God from birth. Samson had a drinking feast to get a Philistine woman as his wife, and invited a Philistine to make an excessive bet as a riddle. The Philistines got the answer by threatening Samson's future wife. So Samson had to go to Ashkelon, kill the people, and keep his promise with what he had stolen from them. An uncontrolled life always has a tragic end.
Without temperance, you cannot lead a proper life of faith, and you cannot live a life of value that God accepts.
God has given me and you a great asset. It's up to me to waste it or put it to good use. If you ignore the authority of the Word, live according to what you see, and live indiscriminately, your life will be wasted.