Monday, October 10, 2016

Lose Yourself

Normally I would have simply left a link behind for all of you to read, but this time around, I am sharing 50 simple yet powerful habits to leave your legacy the way you want it instead of having to lie about it later.

1.     Give your undivided attention.
2.     Be a problem solver.
3.     Remember people’s names.
4.     Ask “How can I help?”
5.     Set high standards.
6.     Make your contribution greater than your reward.
7.     Lead with integrity no matter how much it costs.
8.     Smile.
9.     Compliment the person within the first 30 seconds of the conversation.
10.  Make people feel good about themselves.
11.   Listen silently – and put away the smartphone!
12.   Make eye contact.
13.  Show respect.
14.  Share the credit.
15. Talk with people, not at them.
16.   Send it.
17.  Dream big for others.
18.  Stay away from toxicity.
19.  Don’t hesitate.
20.  Keep a positive attitude.
21.  Celebrate special occasions.
22.  Help people focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses.
23.   Send handwritten notes.
24.   Give without being asked.
25.  Always bring something to the table.
26.  Give people your trust.
27.   Communicate appropriately.
28.  Highlight what may be overlooked.
29.  Make meaningful connections.
30.  Be on time.
31.  Go the extra mile.
32.  Be a sounding board.
33.  Give someone a special task and watch the person accomplish it.
34.  Express deep appreciation for the ways people add value to your life.
35.  Renew confidence.
36.  Treat people the way you want to be treated.
37.  Be sincere in your sincerity.
38.   Pay it forward.
39.  Offer constructive feedback.
40.  Delegate.
41.   Catch people doing right.
42.  Invite people to become part of a cause that is greater than they are.
43.  Don’t keep score.
44.  Make it win-win.
45.  Don’t let people down.
46.  Bring your best.
47.  Meet people halfway.
48.  Add value constantly.
49.  Start a movement.
50.  Live every day like it was your last.

Imagine what our lives would be like if we adhere to the maxims above even if we are only to perform one deed on this list daily. Keep in mind that none of these habits cost any money whatsoever instead an investment to become our best selves.




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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

I’m a Christian. I’m Also Conscious. How Is That an Oxymoron?

I recently scrolled through Facebook – why I even bother with that app some days is beyond me, perhaps because I couldn’t sleep – to see what a connection shared to his page. I normally agree with his statuses by clicking “Like”, but this one I couldn’t quite endorse. The image posted stated that Christians could not be conscious, which I disagreed with yet failed to explain my stance. It stewed in my brain for several days until I finally got around to doing a bit of research both within the Bible and secular sources for a more universal understanding regarding how I needed to formulate my opinion. Was this one a bit above a pay grade? Possibly so, yet I still wanted to know where the contradictions lie if there any could be found.

I am a Christian. I am also conscious. How are the two descriptors contradictory, and how do the twain align? Let’s examine all angles before formulating opinions.
Image result for conscious christian
Can an individual be conscious and Christian? Keep reading to find out. 
Early Christians – as in the days of Paul – were aware of the persecution and risks associated with proclaiming themselves followers of Jesus Christ, and those penalties often included jail time and death! Consider the Holy Roman Empire spread far, deep, and wide throughout the Mediterranean region as well as the Middle East, North Africa, and into Europe:  paganism rued the day as did the often unfair taxation of the Jews. Certainly in those days, Christianity was quite revolutionary as it was an upstart religion in comparison to Judaism and polytheism of the period both of which had already existed for hundreds of years. Once we recall Jesus tarrying around the earth for 33 years before His death, resurrection, and ascension forty days later, we also become cognizant to His living example of “staying woke.” While the Jews sought a muscular king to flex earthly dominance, Jesus came meekly, preached a message of love, cited the hypocrisies of following mere religion, and otherwise established a movement so powerful that it is the example for all of our battles against the powers that be, tradition, and the ingrained systemic inequalities of the world.

If that was the case, then how are so many of us asleep today?   

Simple:  complacency.

When one or two of us “make it out”, we tend to pick up the stones that were set for us by our ancestors, mentors, and others who saw a genuine interest in our advancement and start living as if we never had to persevere against all odds or become judgmental toward the current and next generation of young brothers and sisters learning their way.

We hate our oppressors during bondage, and once we get free, we act just like them. No one wins.

Being woke in my own blackness is a struggle daily, particularly as I continue studying my own Bible to understand more of the mysterious faith God is leading me to cling to firmly and how it relates in a period which my own being can be seen as dangerous to some and a blessing to others. Given the social and political climates the United States of America is currently experiencing – or repeating due to failed lessons and intentional whitewashing of history [see: Shelby v. Holder, Jim or Jane Crow, enslavement, redlining, police brutality, etc.], how can I maintain a balance of the two?

Why do so many churches in our communities espouse a #AllLivesMatter ideology when the larger populace dismisses our calls of accountability within a system slanted against us in the first place?

Don’t tell me I need to dress better. I’ve been knocked over in Applebee’s wearing an oxford shirt and tie by a customer who conveniently didn’t see me on her way to the exit.  

Don’t tell me about being compliant when Conway PD pulled guns out on me nearly twenty years ago over a basic traffic stop.

Don’t tell me about needing to speak articulately and stopping there when I have real experiences as a career professional yet all you see is the skin and try to marginalize what I bring to the table and view me as overqualified for having to accept lesser roles and pay to provide for my family.

Don’t tell me that my zip code determines my daughter’s educational opportunities. Currently our neighborhood is zoned for one of the top ten elementary schools in the state, and the second choice is also a top-20 program. If she ends up anywhere else, that becomes a real cause of concern; ditto for what she is taught anywhere.

Against all odds and a burgeoning underbelly of hatred, I do believe God values our black lives as much as any other lives – I’ve noted the parallels of the Israelites from the days of Joseph to that of the black experience here in the US of A in 2016. [Keep in mind I am not making any mention of the modern-day Israel state established in 1948. In my opinion it is a right-wing state propped up by our government that embraced open discrimination toward Palestinians due to the Jews who escaped Hitler’s Germany during the Holocaust only to practice overt segregation. The nation with the second-strongest military should be able to take care of itself instead of instigating conflict only to run to America like a child who was caught with his hand inside of the cookie jar. I won’t speak any more of that stance until I see otherwise.]


I know being a radical seems to be the “it-thing” to be these days, but what if I told you Jesus was the ultimate radical? For Christians, God is our leader and Jesus is the standard bearer as His Son. He came and saw a world rife with sin and His program was to inspire it with His spiritual redemption – the promise of eternal life. Once you read Revelation and acknowledge the sanctimonious paintings of Jesus are not reflective of His description [he is not White – hate to burst the bubble of white supremacy, but I need to], it presents another round of questions not limited to the following:

1.      Why was religion used to keep my people compliant?
2.      How can we rectify the psychological impact of our own self-hatred if this brand of religion was so ingrained by our oppressors as we lost our lands, identities, and eventually lives?
3.      What kind of person would be so heartless to commercialize Christianity as a means to fool other people for his own earthly gain?
4.       When did it become acceptable for Christians to become complacent and pass such cutting judgment? Yes, I’m talking not only to the #AllLivesMatter crowd but also those who live in a manner where God is treated like a sugar daddy or expect a sugary message every Sunday from the pastor.
5.      As Jesus was labeled a radical by the Pharisees and Sadducees of the period how do our “asleep” friends, family members, neighbors, coworkers, associates, etc. view us when we go against the grain in Kingdom building to become more like Him than ourselves and those we see on television, social media, or hear on radio? What are their true views of #BlackLivesMatter?

Jesus was truly radical. Who else could knock over the moneychangers’ table in the Temple as a rebuke to the house of worship becoming a profit center? Instead of what we tell people to do today [“come to this or that church event”], He went to the people where they were! Imagine what would happen today if we actually did go to the people drowning themselves nightly in bars or watching internet porn as a fantasy to escape a humdrum marriage or act more of a welcoming community than the insular ones we live in where we risk nothing by assimilation.


Being conscious is ultimately being radical. Period, point-blank.
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My faith and consciousness are intertwined:  God will cover me, my wife, and my child through whatever storms we face – and He also gave us the good sense to exercise discernment in all we do to find clarity of it all. It does not mean run to the mess and wallow in it but to be fully aware that preparation for the inevitable spiritual warfare is paramount to our survival. During much of my own childhood, the morning routine included reading (and memorizing) Ephesians 6:10-17 to be prepared for whatever may happen once we stepped out of the comforts of home onto the school bus and on our way to junior high and high school. That “getting dressed” went beyond the Levi’s jeans and Tommy Hilfiger or Nautica polo shirts that were so in vogue in our day; it was essentially a buffer for the taunts on the bus and in the hallways as well as having to exceed academic (and meager social) expectations in some cases.

Contrary to popular belief that was so whitewashed by the mainstream, Brother Martin was conscious. He understood how technology could be used to advance the cause for equality and the manner of how his message could reach the nonchalant to force it as a legitimate concern. Think about his speeches after 1963. He was centered on liberation for his people albeit in a nonviolent method all along.

For my Hotep and Pan-Afrikan brothers and sisters, we do have to survive in a larger world which we are not necessarily wanted as our cultural assets are constantly capitulated and thrown away quicker than yesterday’s newspapers. Keep your heads up and Godspeed in your quests for understanding – consider the fact there are fellow Christians who are awakening from a slumber induced by consumerism, a false sense of comfort, and being on the “right side” of the proverbial tracks.

I am a practicing Christian. I am also a conscious black man who is learning more every day as the awakening continues. Therefore, it is possible to be both a Christian and conscious even as the #StayWoke hash tags pop up all over the Twitterverse – and I hope I proved no oxymoron in the twain.


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Thursday, September 29, 2016

From A Wooden Block to Greatness

As Cub Scouts in the 1980s, my brother and I had the opportunities to showcase our woodworking skills during the Pinewood Derby. Actually, we didn’t – we would find a Hot Wheel or a car from one of the dreams posters in our shared bedroom, point it to our dad, and he would carve those wooden blocks into something light and aerodynamic for us to do well in the actual races. However, we did paint, sand, and test the cars before race day! Beyond the random funny cars, we had what were possibly two of the lightest and most successful cars for the majority of the races we entered. In Alan’s very first derby, he nearly won but quit racing his concept Corvette when he saw the other boys playing among themselves! To him, it seemed like they were having more fun than the then first-grader and he didn’t want to be left out. 

 This is not just a story of a man, his two sons, and wooden blocks that became exotic cars. 

 God does the same thing with us. How? 

 He looks at the rough wooden blocks (us) and whittles us down to the Christ-like man or woman we are destined to become beneath that blunt surface. As with the cars having too much weight and being lightened for maximum performance and efficiency, He uses the C-clamp to keep us grounded while He works the hand saw, sanding pads, and the occasional weight aid (the wing on my maroon Lamborghini Countach, for example) one part at a time to mold us into the best we can become. Eventually, those Pinewood Derby cars would receive one or two applications of paint, dry overnight, and in our cases, go through a test run before the races at our elementary school or the Armory across town. 

 Sometimes the process is wonderful; sometimes it is a painful journey. In the end, all of God’s tools have us conformed to the “image of His own likeness.” 

 Are we trying to be more like God or more like ourselves? If we are desirous of a transformation, we must allow ourselves to be transformed from wooden blocks to greatness in His hands. 

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Wednesday, September 14, 2016

For America! Lessons the First Amendment Teaches All of Us


I can go all week talking about the First Amendment but many of you would simply parse through the parts you want to hear and remain butt hurt over the rest.
The First Amendment as adopted in 1791 reads as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
 

You just read that the First Amendment allows for the freedoms of religion, speech, the press, the ability to peacefully assemble, and petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. Those are the basic rights we all inherit as Americans even if said freedoms have trickled down the spigots of equality like water dripping from our faucets in the dead of winter. It was adopted on December 15, 1791 as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights originally applying to laws enacted by Congress, and many of its provisions were interpreted more narrowly than they are today. Beginning with Gitlow v. New York (1925), the Supreme Court applied the First Amendment to state issues – a process known as incorporation – through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

So what does that really cover in our times? More than you think. Read the five points below to understand its reach and limitations:

Establishment of religion

The United States of America is not solely a Christian nation. Although three out of four of us proclaim the title (living it is an entirely different beast, which I’ll delve into some other time), neither the individual states nor the Federal government can set up a church or pass laws that benefit one religion over another. For example, private schools such as Pulaski Academy and Episcopal cannot use public funds from the Little Rock School District to pay for transportation (read: busing) while its charters limit the student type or necessitate a financial need greater than necessary. Understand that the real reason why Puritans came over from England was to escape having to live under the state-led Church of England so they could practice their religion freely; taxation came later. This portion of the First Amendment was intended by President Jefferson as a “wall between church and state” that must be kept high and impenetrable, not allowing for even the slightest breach.

Ask how that is going for the Republican-led state Legislatures in Oklahoma and Arkansas as both groups attempt to place religious monuments on federal lands.

Freedom of religion

This also allows for Peter Griffin to establish the Church of the Fonz as he did in this Family Guy episode.

The freedom of religion allows for the freedom to hold an opinion or belief, but not to take action in violation of social duties or subversive to good order; however, it does not permit an anything goes approach such as human sacrifice. Ruling otherwise would mean that the profession of our faiths is greater than the law of the land and in effect permit every citizen to become a law unto himself meaning government would exist in name only. While the right to have religious beliefs is absolute, the freedom to act on such beliefs is not absolute. It also brings the blue laws into question – for the unaware, blue laws restrict the sales of intoxicating liquors on Sundays in many states to only restaurants and even then, only by the drink. They – and the religious leaders/lobbyists - are also the reason why the liquor and beer stores are closed on the first day of the calendar week.

Freedom of speech and of the press

This is where we are today:  dissecting these seven words and in some cases, twisting them around to fit our narratives. Even if we disagree with the comments and manner of expression, it is within our basic fundamental rights as American citizens to freely share how we feel. Saying or doing whatever we want does not necessarily exempt us from criticism nor does it excuse us from being idiots. For example, yelling “Fire!” or “Gun!” in a movie theater is a really stupid thing to do and is a very dangerous exclamation in a crowded room with one, two (or more, depending on the theater) exits due to the fact that someone could be trampled on the way out. What if it a false alarm? The First Amendment does not cover its protection as it was used to incite a violent reaction.

In the case of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sitting through the national anthem due to the mistreatment of black people by law enforcement and other institutions, he is acting according to the letter of the amendment. The people who take issue with that are the same ones who often advocate for a limited government as in justice for Just Us; the so-called overtaxed who unwittingly do not realize the top taxation rates today are a fraction of what they were when (to rose-colored glasses wearing conservatives, 1957) America was its greatest before the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, etc.; war hawks who manufacture conflict in strange places and within our own cities and suburbs to line their pockets with profits bought by the lives of our young men and women who are paying with their lives. Let us not forget there are pockets of people who still think black people should only count as three-fifths of a person and the best place for women is at home seen and not heard.


Welcome to an America where an elderly black man is still called “boy” and an actual teenager is a “man” on the football field as he stiff-arms defenders en route to the end zone or eludes sacks for a first down.

Welcome to an America where Donald Trump can tell people that America is not great to cheers but when Colin Kaepernick makes a similar sentiment the boo birds fly in to poop on him.


Welcome to an America where Black Lives Matter is considered a terrorist group yet the Klan still exists in our schools, police departments, businesses, city council and school board meetings, hospitals, and churches without people batting an eye.
Welcome to an America where my goddaughter is considered an adult at age ten (to some people) and thirty-year-old Ryan Lochte is still a kid to the same folks.

I ain’t done yet. As a matter of fact, I’m just getting started.

Freedom of speech also covers political speech even as the state of Arkansas has historically tampered with the NAACP suppressing its members identifying them publicly despite the White Citizens Council roster of the day remaining anonymous. It also covers campaign finance (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 2010); flag desecration; falsifying military awards; commercial speech; school speech (antiwar protests at Kent State); obscenity (2 Live Crew); libel and slander; memoirs of convicted criminals; and private action.

Freedom of the press

The free speech and free press clauses have been interpreted to include writers and speakers except for wireless broadcasting which had been given less constitutional protection. The Free Press Clause protects the right of individuals to freely express themselves through publication and dissemination of information, ideas, and opinions without interference, constraint or prosecution by the government. This right has been extended to the media including newspapers, video games, books, plays and movies; as for bloggers (me) and other social media journalists, we do not have the same protection yet our words are equally protected by the Free Speech Clause and the Free Press Clause because both clauses do not distinguish between media business and nonprofessional speakers. This is further shown by the Supreme Court consistently refusing to recognize the First Amendment as providing greater protections to the established media than to other speakers:  in other words, journalists are being held more accountable for their words and locations than ever.

 Freedom to petition and assemble peacefully

The Petition Clause protects the right “to petition the government for a redress of grievances”. People do have the right to communicate with government officials via lobbying and petitioning the courts by filing lawsuits with a legal basis. It is also one of those freedoms the privileged tend to have a problem with particularly when the disaffected is clamoring for a right (women’s suffrage, black equality, the LGBTQ movement) such as the rights to vote and marry whomever they choose simply because being fair is seen as discriminatory to them. The right of access to the courts is extended to all three branches of the government – Congress, the executive, and the judiciary – as well as states through incorporation. In addition, the Supreme Court construes “redress of grievances” broadly:  not solely for the public to tie up the courts in non-frivolous lawsuits but also to protect private interests seeking personal gain. Pay-to-play litigation is the name of the game at this level.

On a more localized level, we are protected by this clause to express our interests, hopes, and desires to our leaders in order for them to be heard publicly hence the town halls.

As Americans, we also have the right to assemble peacefully although for many of my ancestors and contemporaries that has not always been the case. Not too long ago, the general perception of seeing three or more brothers in the South standing around in conversation was they were troublemakers planning a revolt or assaulting someone. Just because someone is an endorser of Black Lives Matter does not mean that he or she wishes that to become public information as the membership, involvement or support is an essential part of his or her freedom.

The First Amendment affords us a categorized list of inalienable freedoms protected for all Americans to express ourselves without retribution in theory; in practice, this country does have a mixed record of that at best. When speaking out or standing up to protest an injustice, it covers our best intentions to make our nation a greater place to live every day by addressing and rectifying discrepancies. However, it does not give us the okay to be idiots regarding the way we resolve our disagreements – in this day of social media and the quick sound bite, we are prone to the worst of our thoughts, minds, and keystrokes. 
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86% Grind, Still Not Much Sleep Years Later

Years ago, Houston rapper-turned-pimp Mike Jones bragged on his record about how much he worked in between moments when he wasn’t repeating his name in every few bars (Who? Mike Jones!). Truthfully, he really wasn’t that great of a rapper but he was an amazing promoter by virtue of how he built the buzz for that 2005 album Who Is Mike Jones? to go platinum and for a brief moment, he put the city of Houston and the chopped and screwed sound on the national radar. I know DJ Screw is the originator and Lil’ Flip spit some pretty hot bars a few years earlier, but combined with Swishahouse icon Michael Watts, Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Slim Thug, Magno, Archie Lee, and others, Jones found his way into cars that otherwise would have kept a different style in their CD players.

Keep in mind this is 2005:  Rick Ross and Young Jeezy were working on debut albums, T.I. had reached his mainstream peak, G-Unit moved south to Nashville with Young Buck’s Straight Outta Cashville, Kanye West was talking about gold diggers before marrying one and introducing us to the ways John Legend got lifted, and Game was telling us about his dreams. Bulky CD cases were strewn all over the back seats – and for the fortunate, XM or Sirius satellite radio was a $35 subscription away.

Other than his name, one thing that Jones frequently repeated said that oddly sticks so many years later is “90% Grind, 10% Sleep”. If he worked every day as he proclaimed, then sleep was quite the afterthought as in he likely averaged 151 awake hours per week. Clearly that was quite the overstatement – a man would wear out very quickly if he tried to sustain a pace that only allowed for 2.5 hours   of sleep. Trust me:  I did that for a nearly five-year period. While all of that working (and saving, don’t forget) paid off two cars, a wedding, my student loan, and even a nice down payment on our house, I honestly wouldn’t do it again because I missed out on so much of my twenties and early thirties.

Enter the summer of 2016. I’ve been grinding 86% of the week – and I’m not talking about anything else away from the job. I didn’t expect to still be working six nights per week at this point in my life, but here we are punching the clock and getting assaulted by Uncle Sam with help from Chase and Toyota among other creditors every other Friday. I’m more tired and perhaps a bit more wary of my own time; with a precocious nineteen-month-old, the last thing I want to do is waste time by being counterproductive. It also means I should have learned how to monetize my time – HUGE difference from managing my time. During the course of a given day other than Mondays, I can micromanage my day from start to finish to the minute all in the names of efficiency and maximum productivity including my 5.5 hour nap. This lifestyle isn’t exactly healthy, yet it is the one I lead today. As for Mondays, I’m sleeping as the rest of the world does battle in rush hour and office politics jousting for position in drive-thru windows and simultaneously hating their lives.


The sleep part comes in the morning and I doubt there will be much of it before more fires have to be put out. I need to shake the hands of the people who invented darkened curtains and offer the central heat and air technician a couple of burgers and beers for their hard work in aiding my day of rest. 
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The Power of Prayer

Over the past four years at my job, I begin my shifts by praying for the crews I am working with each night for their safety, productivity, communication, and that the machines they operate run smoothly without any breakdowns. From the control room, I normally manage several monitors spread out throughout the production and receiving floors and a rolling progress report of everything run and/or received yet I still take a quick moment to petition God for the other twenty men and women on the night crew’s health and awareness of what surrounds them. Most of the time we survive our shifts (who really wants to work the night shift?), but for those myriad times when enough things go haywire, that power of praying for others has protected us from the worst of circumstances.

In ancient Judah, Abijah doesn’t stand out as one of the great kings because his heart wasn’t “fully devoted to the Lord his God” (1 Kings 15:3). But as Judah prepared for war against an Israel army that outnumbered it 2-to-1, Abijah knew what time it was:  Prayer time. Faithful people in his kingdom of Judah had continued worshipping God even as the ten tribes of Israel had driven out the priests of God and begun worshiping pagan gods such as Baal. Because of them, Abijah confidently turned to the one true God in his hour of need. As a result, Judah trounced Israel in war “because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors” (2 Chronicles 13:8-9).

We are largely the same way:  run to God when we are in trouble, live on autopilot otherwise. If you don’t believe me, wait for a fire too big for us to put out such as bad news with our health or ending up a day late and a few dollars short on a utility bill necessitating a shut-off notice. Then we start praying for deliverance from the ailment or any sort of assistance to avoid losing vital services at home.

Our God welcomes anyone who comes and relies on Him.


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What Happens In the Dark Comes To Light

What we try do in the dark eventually will see the light – and the consequences are often far-reaching in scope for generations to come. As leaders, we are to be doubly aware that our private lives are often intertwined with the public personas we have carefully cultivated particularly those of us with higher callings or larger platforms to impact change. In the age of social media, we also have discovered how unforgiving the masses can be until the next calamity occurs and it affects them [examples:  anarchists until floods or tornadoes destroy their homes, the religious among us who put more faith in inanimate symbols such as the American flag or dollar bill than a living God who provides all we need as well as some of our wants; stars caught up in extramarital affairs until an unexpected pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease enter the picture; etc.]

Samson was such a man whose private life failed to align with his public persona.

We all remember him in Judges 13-16 as the muscleman who was to deliver Israel from the Philistines. His outsized physical strength was a specific gift meant to set him apart from the crowd and serve the Lord; however, this came with certain conditions. He could not ever cut his hair, drink alcohol, or do anything unclean to lessen his significance among the Israelites. Samson may have been a hairy dude and not what we would consider today our modern-day hero. Nevertheless, he was a leader of men.

Did he lead a pure life?

No.

Do you?

I thought so. Keep reading to find out what else comes out in the light.

Samson got drunk, ate honey from dead lions and ravished other unclean spaces, threw tantrums, chased sluts, and eventually fell for the wrong woman. In other words, he was a man. Each time he stepped out of God’s covenant, he was reminded of his purpose to lead Israel to freedom. In other words, he did most of the same things the average man has done in his life before – and sometimes after – acknowledging his life’s work. Yet, his twenty years of service to the Israelites were more than sufficient for what they gave him in return. Samson was bad-to-the-bone but his personal life had a sneaky way of derailing his awesomeness.

Understand not all women can be classified as deceiving, but in Delilah’s case, the shoe fits. If Prada or Christian Louboutin had a shoe store back then, she would be the one wearing the red bottom pumps over a sleeping Samson who was unknowingly weakened after the enemy cut his hair.

But before the fatal haircut…Delilah plotted with the Philistine leaders to avenge Samson’s killings of at least thirty-two people and the destruction of their wheat fields. Have him tell you where his strength comes from, they implored Delilah. Do whatever it takes for him to tell you then we’ll capture him and present the captive to Dagon. Delilah used the same beauty that attracted the hero to her guile by wining and dining, doing those freaky things to him that probably made his toes curl up like Ramen noodles, and otherwise played up to his sympathies in an attempt for him to spill the beans on where his strength lies. Over time, he was worn down from breaking ropes and chains as if they were sheets of paper Mache dolls and finally revealed to her his hair had never been cut. Once his mane was shorn of its locks, Samson was reduced to a mere mortal just as the Philistines had conspired to do in the first place.

Samson did not know that the Lord had left him. – Judges 16:20

With a considerably weakened body and gouged eyes, Samson was escorted to a banquet in Gaza where he was jeered and mocked by the same Philistines he broke bread and laid down with as they praised their god Dagon for his capture. A young man who was leading him by the hand was asked to take him to the middle columns that are holding up the roof which he was compliant. In one last gust of glory, God provides Samson with one more burst of strength to topple the temple killing everyone inside including himself!

We all need to pay close attention to our own private lives even as many of them parallel Samson making sure that God is at the center of those in addition to the public lives.


The things that happen in the dark do come out in the light. 
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