Delilah is known for being the woman who destroyed Samson. And I know you are probably wondering, why leadership lessons from Delilah? What lessons can I learn from her? She was no great woman! Certainly, she has nothing to teach me! She was an evil woman! She was a traitor! She was a murderer! I hate her! Away with Delilah! Off with her head! Etc.
No doubt, she was the negative things running through your head and probably more. But crawl behind the eyes of a Philistine for one moment, and you won’t see an evil woman. No, you won’t see a traitor, and you certainly won’t see a murderer. But you will certainly see a national hero, a deliverer, a problem-solver and a great woman.
Delilah was in a sexual relationship with Samson. Their nations were enemies. He was an Israelite, and she was a Philistine. Samson was born to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Philistines, and he was doing a good job of this before he got sidetracked by his love for Delilah. Once the lord of the Philistines noticed that Samson was in love with Delilah, they came to her and promised to give her eleven hundred pieces of silver to deliver him to them. Delilah set out to trap Samson, and we know how the story ended.
The Leadership Lessons from the Life of Delilah Are as Follows;
- Delilah was a national hero. While you may disagree, I am quite certain that the Philistines, past, present, and future, would not. Samson represented a national threat. He had a lot of strength, and as much as the Philistines tried, they could not destroy him. As long as he lived, Israel had the upper hand over the Philistines, the only way to bring Israel back into full captivity was to destroy Samson. Delilah was able to do this.
- She was a deliverer. Samson’s very existence threatened the existence of the Philistines. He had killed thousands of them in battle and so when Delilah destroyed him, she was destroying a national enemy and delivering her people from oppression.
- She was courageous. Delilah understood the dangers of her assignment. She could easily be killed by the man who had already killed thousands of her people. In taking on the assignment of betraying Samson, she was jeopardising her own life. It takes courage to do this.
- She kept trying and did not quit. The first time Delilah thought she had known Samson’s secret and announced to him; “the Philistines be upon you, Samson,” it was soon evident that Samson had not revealed the true source of his strength to her. Samson played this game a few times with Delilah before he eventually told her the truth. But Delilah did not quit; she continued to ask him for the secret of his strength until he told her. Great leaders keep at it until it works.
- She did not give excuses. Delilah did not return to her people with excuses of why she could not carry out or complete the task given to her. Each time she failed she tried again, she did not give up, she did not make excuses, and eventually, she succeeded in capturing Samson.
- She delivered on the job. The task was simple, to get Samson to tell her the secret of his strength so that the Philistines could bind him and take him captive and Delilah did not fail in this task.
- She put aside sentiments in the pursuit of her goal. Samson was her lover, and they were no doubt happy together but once the assignment was given to her Delilah put aside all sentiments and pursued her goal. She let her head rule her heart. She decided that liberating her people was more important than a love relationship and in all her encounters with Samson, she allowed her head to rule.
- She listened. Listening is essential in leadership. The leader who does not listen is quickly destroyed. Delilah would have failed in her assignment if she did not listen. Each time Samson told her the secret of his strength, she followed his prescriptions to the letter, indicating that she was listening to him attentively.
- She was committed to her assignment. That she was willing to sacrifice the man she was in a love relationship with and that she did not quit or make excuses reveals her commitment to her assignment.
- She was focused. Her eyes were always on her assignment and the reward that awaited her. She did not see the risks involved in the task or she would have quit midway. She also did not allow herself to be swayed by Samson’s “love” or she would have been sidetracked.
These are by no means the only leadership lessons one can glean from a study of Delilah’s life, but they prove that she was a leader and a great woman. Few women can do what she did because it takes great mental strength to achieve it. And too many women are weak-minded, needy and desperate for “love.” They can’t walk away from a bad man and a bad relationship. They need to be in a love relationship even if it kills them. Too many women have sacrificed their purpose and destiny on the altar of “love” which was no love, as they discovered eventually. Too many women have allowed themselves to be abused and defrauded in the name of “love.” Learn a lesson from Delilah. She put her vision before her love relationship. And if anything would be sacrificed, it was the love relationship and not her vision. Samson was not her husband; there was no commitment from him to her, and so she was under no obligation to make any sacrifices. Amid “love” and sex, she remembered who she was (a Philistine). She remembered who Samson was (an Israelite and the enemy). And she never lost track of her vision (to bring him down and liberate her people).
I will round up by stating that if Samson had half the self-control that Delilah possessed, he would have preserved his life and destiny and destroyed her.
