Some Assembly Required

Part 3: Blinded by Betrayal / Relationships Built on Forgiveness

This week, as we continued in our series, Some Assembly Required, we looked at the life of Israel’s last judge, Samson. In Judges 14, Samson was getting married. During the wedding feast, he posed a riddle to his guests, which led his wife to betray him by revealing the answer to the Philistines. Samson reacted violently, setting off cycles of vengeance and conflict in his life. This pattern continues in Judges 15-16 as Samson’s life is marked by further betrayal. His relationship with Delilah, who the Philistines bribed, leads to his ultimate downfall when she learns the secret of his strength—his uncut hair—and cuts it while he sleeps. Samson is then captured, blinded, and imprisoned by the Philistines.Betrayal is the intentional violation of trust, often involving broken commitments and exploiting a relationship for selfish gain. Samson experienced significant betrayal throughout his life. Instead of addressing his hurts, he reacted with anger, leading to cycles of bitterness and revenge. Like Samson, we may feel justified in seeking vengeance, but such actions only perpetuate further cycles of destruction.As followers of Jesus, we cannot engage in cycles of hate while simultaneously inviting the kingdom of God into our lives. Jesus calls us to break the cycle of hurt through forgiveness. Forgiveness is not about forgetting the wrongs done to us or excusing bad behavior. Rather, forgiveness is the key to walking in freedom and finding true peace. Forgiveness is the process of seeking from God what we feel we need from the other person. When we receive this from God, we can extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us without expecting anything in return.
Forgiveness enables us to pursue reconciliation or separation in a way that honors God and allows us to walk in freedom.