After his
return from the moon, Neil Armstrong was often plagued by the media. Seeking
greater privacy, he moved his family into a small town. But notoriety was a
nuisance even there. Armstrong’s barber found out that people would pay good
money to get a lock of his hair. So after giving the space hero several
haircuts, he sold the clippings to a buyer for $3,000! Armstrong was shocked at
the barber’s opportunism.
The
Scriptures tell of another story of disloyalty and a haircut. As a symbol of
God’s calling of Samson as a Nazirite, he was never to cut his hair (Judg. 13:5).
When the Spirit of God came upon him, he was given super-human strength over
his enemies (15:14). Wanting to overpower him, the Philistines hired Delilah, a
woman who had a relationship with him, to find out the secret of that strength.
He foolishly told her that his power would be gone if his hair were cut. She
lulled him to sleep and had him shorn (16:5,19).
Greed can
drive us to be disloyal to others and to God, causing us to make sinful
choices. Our desire should be to exhibit a heart that is fully committed to
love the Lord and others. He shows “Himself strong on behalf of those whose
heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 16:9).
Loyalty
is the test of true love. (RBC)
