Learning our Lesson

A couple of days ago I was reading Judges, the story of Samson.  Samson was a pretty cool guy.  Ordained as a Judge from his mother's womb, she had explicit instructions on how to raise him.  Then, like us. Samson was a man who was weak.  Samson's particular weakness was one of pride... and of not being able to tell himself "no".  In today's terms, Samson was a womanizer... and he didn't like the word no. 
Samson desired a woman of the Philistine race, which was his first mistake, as God had instructed the Israelites not to take a woman from another tribe (and no, this isn't against interracial marriage.  All God's people are all God's people... this was for their own good, because eventually it would be their downfall.) He told his parents he would be with that woman, because it "pleases... well".  Mistake number two... Life isn't always about what pleases us. It's about what pleases God.  Samson's wife was a master manipulator (after all, she was a woman, grin)... and used it to get Samson in trouble. "Samson, you don't love me because you won't tell me the answer to your riddle."  Samson gave in, and was poorer for it.  He ended up getting mad at her and getting rid of her, actually letting her marry his friend.
Enter Deliliah, who we all know about.  She sang him to sleep on her lap and got him to tell her his weakness.  Oh, he put it off and put it off, but she pulled out that old card, "If you loved me" and Samson, full of love (or lust) gave in.  As a result, he was captured, had his eyes gouged out, and was forced to grind in the prison.  His story did end in victory, as he called on God to strengthen him one last time, but his story is still a sad one. Because it could have been different.
If only Samson had learned his lesson from his first wife.  If only he could have recognized manipulation at its finest.  We can learn a lesson... manipulation is all around us. We need to open our eyes and stand firm in God's strength. 
I guess the whole reason I wanted to expand on this, though, was to comment that had Samson known how to treat a woman, none of it might have happened..."If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have solved my riddle" he said about his first wife.  It's a wonder he didn't get his eyes gouged out sooner...