3 Warning Signs You Might Not Be Taking Your Calling Seriously
By Michael Kelley
When you think about the Old Testament character of Samson, what comes to mind? Long flowing hair? Rippling muscles? Larger than life and able to physically do things no person should be able to physically do?
In many ways, what we picture with Samson is the equivalent of a professional wrestler. But what about his character? Well, when it comes to character, he’s much less impressive. And though his flaws were many, perhaps you could sum it all up like this:
Samson never really took his calling seriously. And he was indeed called. This is what the angel said about his birth in Judges 13: “Although you are unable to conceive and have no children, you will conceive and give birth to a son. Now please be careful not to drink wine or beer, or to eat anything unclean; for indeed, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You must never cut his hair, because the boy will be a Nazarite to God from birth, and he will begin to save Israel from the power of the Philistines.”
Samson was called to be a Nazarite. Separated for God. And there were visible tangible signs of that separation. Not only so, but he was called for a purpose - not to be the Old Testament version of a professional wrestler, but to begin to save Israel from the Philistines. And yet time and time again, we see that Samson never took this calling seriously.
Like Samson, we too have received a calling. Though there are many places in Scripture that talk about this call, here is a particularly vivid passage from 1 Peter 2:
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light… Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.”
This is a serious call. It is an all-encompassing call. It is a call that surpasses your vocation, your station, or your position in the community. If you are a Christian, then you have a call on your life. But also like Samson, we might be taking it seriously enough. But how do you know?
Let’s return to Samson and find three warning signs in Judges 16, the story of Samson and Delilah.
1. Warning sign number one is your primary influences.
We don’t know much about Delilah, but we do know that it didn’t take much convincing for her to agree to betray Samson (Judges 16:4-6). Though it took several attempts, she eventually wore down Samson’s resistance and discovered the secret to his strength. This was who Samson had chosen to let into his heart and life.
Friends, it takes a great deal of hubris to think that we can surround ourselves with ungodliness and not be influenced by it. If we, like Samson, look around and see that the primary influences in our lives are not intentionally spurring us on toward Jesus and good works then it is a warning sign that we are not taking our calling seriously.
2. Warning sign number two is our commitment to holiness.
Part of your calling, as a Christian, is to be holy. That is, to be pure. To be set apart in issues of morality. If you aren’t taking that commitment to holiness seriously, then it is a warning sign you aren’t taking your call as a Christian seriously either.
Samson didn’t. His Nazarite vow meant he was to be set apart for the Lord, and that separation included that he would have no contact with a dead body. But notice Samson’s first answer when Delilah asked him the secret of his strength (Judges 16:7). He told her that if he were tied up with seven bowstrings that had not been dried, his strength would fade. Now what are these bowstrings? Well, literally, they were animal tendons. And, they were fresh. So Samson’s first answer to her request was a direct violation of his Nazarite vow that he would not touch a corpse. The apparent glibness with which he gives his answer seems to indicate that holiness? Being set apart? Is the furthest thing from his mind.
3. Warning Sign number three involves our assessment of ourselves.
Samson lived his life treating his calling like a toy. He seems to have thought that no discipline would ever come upon him for doing so - that he was above things like that. That he was untouchable. And this is visible in his interactions with Delilah. As she asks him questions about the source of his strength, he moves closer and closer to the truth. He eases up next to it, as close as he can come, until he finally tells her to cut his hair.
“Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall,” says Proverbs 16:18.
If that is true, then we should all have a very healthy distrust of ourselves. Problem is that we often look at those around us – whether in the news or in our personal relationships – and see their struggle with whatever, and we tend to think that we would never do that “thing” they have just done. That somehow we are above it. We think a very, very dangerous thing - I could never do that. It will never happen to me.
But a wise person doesn’t think that highly of himself. A wise person knows what he is capable of and puts guardrails in place around it. Samson didn’t. He played around with his calling. And the results were disastrous for him, and they will be disastrous for us.
Friends, we have been called. Let’s learn from the failure of Samson and take that calling seriously.
Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.