*Sacred Scripture* Samson and Delilah – Rembrandt

Delilah holds the shorn locks of Samson, and with them, his strength, after she has seduced the man. Artwork by Rembrandt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson

The Bible Story

According to the Old Testament of the Bible (Judges 16), Samson – the son of Manoah – was chosen by God to help the Israelites overcome their enemies, the Philistines. In return for taking a vow not to shave or cut his hair (the Nazirite vow), Samson was given supernatural physical strength, which he used to perform a variety of heroic feats. Unfortunately he then fell in love with the temptress Delilah, in the Valley of Sorek. When the Philistines heard about this, they bribed Delilah with 1,100 shekels of silver to discover the secret of Samson’s strength. Eventually she discovers that his strength will disappear if his hair is cut, so one night while Samson is asleep she calls for a servant to shave his hair, after which the Philistines rush in and overpower him. Later, Samson – whose hair has now regrown – gains his revenge by bringing down the pillars of the Philistine Temple of Dagon crushing his captors and himself.

Jgs 16:28-30

 The Death of Samson

 28Samson cried out to the LORD and said, “Lord GOD, remember me! Strengthen me only this once that I may avenge myself on the Philistines at one blow for my two eyes.”

29Samson grasped the two middle columns on which the temple rested and braced himself against them, one at his right, the other at his left.

30Then saying, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Samson pushed hard, and the temple fell upon the lords and all the people who were in it. Those he killed by his dying were more than those he had killed during his lifetime.

The story has been the subject of numerous religious paintings created during the era of Baroque art, such as “Samson and Delilah” (1629-30, Gemaldegalerie, Berlin) by Rembrandt (1606-69); and “Samson and Delilah” (1654, Musee des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg) by Guercino (1591-1666).

Make Bad Decisions? Produce Bad Results.

Here are some of the worst decisions to avoid at all cost.

1. 1. You can control everything. Control is an illusion we feed ourselves when we things get out of hand. You have to let go of the control and allow things to fall apart so you can put them back together the way they were meant to be.
   2. You won’t even try. There is a difference between giving up after a great effort and not even trying. Failure doesn’t come from falling down , it comes from not trying.
   3. You don’t have to deal with your problems. Running from your problems is never a way to win. Avoiding problems should never be the goal–instead, think of problems as a chance to learn and do better.
   4. Goals aren’t that important. It’s one thing to have visions of the things you want, but if you don’t define them and convert them to goals, very little will get done. With goals, you can make sure your actions each day take you closer to where you want to be.
   5. You’re going to wait for the right… The right opportunity, the right person, the right time may never come, so don’t make your success dependent on externals that you can’t control. Take the action you need to make things happen.
   6. You can afford to neglect important relationships. Neglect is one of those things you don’t know you are doing until you discover that a relationship that was important to you no longer exists. Give the people you care about the gift of your attention.
   7. You’ll change who you are so you can fit in. There is a great saying: If you want to lead the orchestra, you must turn your back on the crowd. To succeed you have to be bold and dare to stand out from the crowd. Don’t try to fit in when you were born to stand out.
   8. You’ll cut corners when it comes to excellence. Do everything you do with excellence because your success depends on your reputation. Cutting corners is never something you can make up later.
   9. Risks are too scary. Success is all about taking chances–those who don’t take chances don’t advance. Fear is part of the territory, something you have to accept and move through. Nurture the positive and don’t feed the fear or let it keep you from what you want.
   10. You can settle for mediocrity. There’s no such thing as overnight success, really. Success is built on a lot of hard work and the refusal to compromise your standards.
   11. You give up on yourself. It’s easy to find excuses for not making things happen, but the minute you give up on yourself, you have put a stop to your own success story. Be your own cheerleader; remind yourself that the struggle you’re in now is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.
   12. You allow negativity from the past to linger. Even if your past gave you failures or problems, you cannot allow it to govern the present. Every morning brings a new day; you can do things differently, you can make different choices. The past cannot be changed or erased, but it doesn’t have to be in charge.
   13. You don’t hold respect. Respect for self and others is one of the things that make successful people stand out. Knowledge may give you power, but respect gives you character.
   14. You don’t need to practice gratitude. Gratitude has the ability to change your thinking. It reminds you to appreciate the things you have, dissolves negativity and helps you see what you truly need. Success comes to those who are grateful for what they have achieved.
   15. You can put up with toxic people. Look for relationship that are based on trust and respect, because all relationships are the foundation for everything good in life. People who bring negativity and judgment into your life make it harder for you to get where you want to be.
   16. You choose others in place of yourself. If you end up pleasing everyone but yourself, you will never succeed. Period. One of the most important things you need to do is to choose yourself–not because you are perfect but because you know you can do better and you can always grow.
   17. Blame, blame, blame everybody else for problems.
   18. https://www.verywellmind.com/why-you-make-bad-decisions-2795489