The ending of Judges 13 is one that gives readers unfamiliar with this account great hope and excitement. The boy who had been promised was born, grew, and the Lord blessed him. Then we read that the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him (v. 25). Before this, we had read that the boy, Samson, would be the one to save Israel from the power of the Philistines. And so, as we turn the page to chapter 14, we might expect Samson to gather an army and square off against Israel’s enemy. After all, that’s what you do when you are stirred by the Spirit, right?

But that is not what we see as Judges 14 opens. Instead of pursuing the Philistines, Samson pursued a Philistine – a single woman that he saw and wanted to take as his wife. Samson was stirred, but instead of acting on behalf of his people, or better yet God, he acted on his own behalf for his own selfish gain. We know that in the mysterious ways of God, He was using Samson’s selfishness for His own purposes. Samson’s selfish pursuit led to the Philistines being overthrown later. But we cannot miss the warning: it is far too easy for us to live selfishly rather than selflessly even when God is at work within us.

When have you found yourself intending to seek God’s glory only to end up pursuing your own?