The Samson economy

In the famous story of Samson, recorded in Judges 16, Samson possesses superhuman strength. When Delilah tries to elicit the source of his strength, he lies three times - about bowstrings, new rope, and weaving his hair - and when each is attempted, his strength remains. At last Samson confides in Delilah the source of his strength:

"A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man" (v17).

Yet he doesn't really believe that this is the source of his strength, for when his head is shorn, this is his response:

"And he awoke from his sleep and said, 'I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.' But he did not know that the Lord had left him" (v20)

Not long ago, when I was thinking of neither Samson nor the economy, the phrase "the Samson economy" entered my mind. Since it appeared not to have come from me, I weighed it, and as I considered it, I saw some significant parallels - not an exegesis of the text, but a sobering picture.

There have come upon the American economy many threats to its stability and endurance, and it has shaken them off like Samson discarded the bowstrings and new ropes. Such is our confidence in the human spirit and ingenuity (and the rate of growth over the past decades) that when we consider future economic crisis, we say, "We will go out as at other times and shake ourselves free."

When Samson went out that last time, he did not know that the Lord had left him. He presumed upon the great strength that he had received, and suddenly it was gone. So the contemporary American economy has received great strength. Yet what we do not recognize - certainly not in the public square - is that the One who sustains all things can withdraw His hand, and when He does we will be like the bald Samson.

It is hard for me to imagine that our economy is not the Samson economy.