I was shocked when I heard the story and everyone else was shocked as well. A man died -- a member of a church I formerly pastored. I'll call him Bill. It was not the fact that he died that was shocking. Everyone will eventually go through the valley of the shadow of death. Nor was it the way he died that was so shocking. He died of a heart attack -- a common cause of death in our country today. The shocking thing was where he died.

He died in what I would call a porno place, a store which featured pornographic literature, videos, and even live models. An active member of the church, a married man, a Christian, had a heart attack and died in a porno place. As people discussed this event, the question which was often expressed -- not always in exactly the same terms -- was, "What was a person like him doing in a place like that?"

That question came to my mind when I read our text. Samson in prison. Samson humiliated before the Philistines. Samson the sport of their drunken entertainment. Then, this man of God, this judge who led Israel for twenty years, put his hands against the two central pillars of the pagan temple and brought down the building upon the Philistines -- and upon himself. The biblical writer concluded sadly, "Thus he killed many more when he died than when he lived" (16:30).

What was a person like him doing in a place like that?

How did Samson get into such a predicament? It wasn't his birth. Some people excuse their actions by saying, "I didn't have a chance from the beginning. Born into poverty and despair, I was just another nobody from a long line of nobodies." Born to lose -- that's what some say about their lives.

Samson couldn't say that. Judges 13:5 indicates that Samson was set apart by God from his birth, and his parents provided everything he could possibly need to live a life of effectiveness for God.

How did Samson get into such a predicament? It wasn't his lack of ability. Some people explain their actions by whining, "I was always just a one talent sort of person. Everybody else had brains and talents but I was just incompetent from the beginning." A young man with an inferiority complex went to the counselor for a series of tests. The counselor returned with this word, "You don't have an inferiority complex. You're just inferior!" That's what some say about their lives. They are just inferior.

Samson couldn't say that. He had incredible strength and unparalleled ability. Judges 14:6 provides one expression of his amazing strength. Samson, walking down the road, a roaring lion coming toward him. No problem for Samson. He tore the lion apart with his bare hands. Samson had the competency to live a life of effectiveness for God.

How did Samson get into such a predicament? It wasn't the absence of God. Some people explain their actions by complaining, "God just never cared about me. I would pray and seek God's face, but I never saw any evidence of God in my life. I just couldn't do it on my own. That was my problem."