The High Cost Of Low Living

Judges 16:15

"THE HIGH COST OF LOW LIVING"

November 9, 2025

There is an old preacher story of a large carnival that came into a country town every two years. And people from miles around would bring their children to see all the colors and sights and sounds. But there was a particular attraction that captivated the audience like no other. It was a simple and hilarious clown. I don’t know what the clown said to make them laugh the way they did. But they would clap their hands and slap their knees and laugh until they were red. I don’t know what the clown did to make them laugh that way. But they would clap their hands and slap their knees and laugh until they were all red. One night a stage animal knocked over a burning lamp full of oil and the ringmaster could not get it under control. And when he saw the clown standing near, he called out, “tell the people to get out, there is a fire and its spreading fast.” And the clown ran center stage and screamed at the top of his lungs, “There is a fire, there is a fire, you must leave now,” but when they heard him, they would clap their hands and slap their knees and laugh until they were all dead. When they needed to hear from a prophet, all they could see was a clown.

I. The Lifestyle - We are studying the life of the strongest weak-man ever recorded in history, Samson: In our text, we are given the tragic end of a man who discovered the high cost of low living. Samson lost his power, his position and his testimony because he valued the sin in his life more than he valued the God of his life. He Faced Powerful Adversaries - Judges 14:1-7 - Samson may have battled the Philistines for over 20 years, but his greatest enemy was Samson! His own flesh and his fleshly appetites proved to be his undoing. Instead of surrendering body, soul and spirit to the will of the Lord, he allowed his flesh to control his life and he paid a high price. You and I can fuss about the devil, or about this enemy or that enemy, but the greatest enemy we all face is our own selves! As one man said, "We have met the enemy and he is us!" It's true, but every problem we face with temptation and sin in our lives, does not come from an external source, it originates within, James 1:14. That is a hard thing to swallow, but it is still true! It isn't the devil out to get you; it is you out to get yourself! Ephesians 4:22 teaches that your flesh is never going to get any better. However, we are not to give in to it, we are to bring it into subjection - 1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. He Faced Powerful Attractions - Judges 14:8-10 - Samson was a Nazarite, Judges 13:7; Num. 6:1-8. His was to be a life dedicated totally to the Lord. Yet, he lived for himself, taking his vows for granted. He was deceitful, he was lustful, he was proud and he was arrogant. An African proverb says that if we can defeat the enemy inside the enemy outside can do us no harm. Samson, by the end of his career, seems to be living a total lifestyle of sin. He has reached a place where he treats his testimony and his reputation like rubbish! Your testimony is the only valuable thing you possess in this world! Jesus teaches in the Book of Revelations that we overcame satan by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony; because we loved not our lives unto the death. Guard your testimony with all your heart. If you ever allow your testimony to become tarnished, it is hard to restore it to where it was in the eyes of those who saw you fail! God will forgive the repentant sinner, but men often remember it and remind you of it!

II. The Losses – Samson chose to go against his parents’ wishes and sin with Delilah. As a result of his rejecting the women that God chose for him and lying down with the Philistine Delilah, he suffered some pretty significant losses. In verse 20 - Samson lost his physical strength when he disclosed the secret of that strength. For the believer in our day, the danger of losing one's spiritual power is great. Imagine not being able to get a hold of the Lord for your needs or the needs of others. Imagine not having the peace of God. Imagine being bound down by sin so that you cannot worship, cannot experience God, cannot enjoy Him, His Word or His people. Low living carries with it the high price of sapping your spiritual strength and leaving you weak before the Lord!. In verse 21 - Samson lost his physical sight. When a child of God lives his or her life under the control of the flesh, they too will lose their eyesight. They may keep their physical vision, but they will lose their spiritual sight. They will lose their vision of the Lord, His Word His house, lost souls, holy living etc. And in the end Samson lost his standing and a Judge of Israel is made to do the work of grinding corn. This was given to him to humiliate him and is an indication of how weak he had become! Can you see the great man of God grinding corn for the Philistines? He has lost his power, and he has lost his victory. He is a pitiful spectacle! Nothing is sadder than a believer who is out of fellowship with the Lord Jesus! They lack joy and peace. They are not happy. They are defeated, discouraged and demoralized. Sin will literally grind you to powder! Jesus warned His disciples in Luke 22 that Satan desires to have you that he may sift you as wheat.

III. The Lessons - For all of the pain this man experienced, there are some great lessons that we can take away from the life of Samson. There is a Lesson About Repentance - Before he died, Samson made things right with the Lord. However, he did it when it was too late to salvage much of anything for the glory of God. You and I need not make the same mistake! If we recognize the presence of evil in our lives, the time to deal with it is now, 1 John 1:9; Pro. 28:13, before we are forced to pay the ultimate price for our sins. Repentance can take place at any time! There is a Lesson About Restoration - Samson received his power back from the Lord. Whatever we may lose to sin, in a spiritual sense, the Lord can and will restore if we repent. However, we need to know that we will never gain back everything we lose in the eyes of men! But thank God, He can cleanse us, and He can use us for His glory once more – Though God restored his strength He did not restore his sight! Repentance does not remove the pain of low living. Someone today is paying a high cost for low living. Someone today is in a war that they did not start, and they don’t know how to finish, but I have come to tell you that yes it is true that repentance does not remove the pain of low living, but God can redeem the time that the worm has eaten away (Joel 2:25). Remember that it was Jesus that took the penalty of sin upon Himself. Jesus knows what scars that sin leaves behind. He who knew no sin but He died to pay the price for our sin; He who did no wrong today sits at the right hand of the Father with scars in His hands and feet. Isaiah says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”