His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” (Judges 14:3)
When I was young I always felt that my parents didn’t really know what they were talking about. After all, the times had changed, and it had been a while since they were teenagers. Then I went off to college, and it took only about 3 months for me to realize that they weren’t as clueless as I had imagined them to be.
The story of Samson is somewhat similar in nature to what I just shared. He was a young man who had his mind set on a Philistine woman. Why the big deal? Well, God had told the Israelites not to intermarry with any other peoples. To violate this command was to disobey God.
But that was a long time ago, right? Times had changed, hadn’t they? Samson was of a new breed of Israelite – the rules didn’t apply, or so he thought.
Truth be told, Samson could have spared himself a great deal of pain and suffering if only he had obeyed his parents. This decision of his was the start of a downward spiral that eventually cost him his life. God had gifted Samson’s parents with wisdom (they prayed for it), but Samson refused to listen.
Your parents are probably not as dumb as you think.
Though times have changed, they haven’t changed so much that your parents are clueless. Talk to them. Listen to them. Heed their advice. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll avoid the suffering that Samson faced.
Lord, thank You for the gift of my parents. Thank You that they sought You for wisdom and that they were patient with me when I wouldn’t pay attention to it. Help my children to listen to the wisdom You give me for them.
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