Samson versus David
1December 10, 2012 by Brian
Tonight we watched a video comparing to significant men in the bible, Sampson and David. Is one a better role model than the other for being a better man? If so, why? Nate Larkin delivered a great presentation on the subject, outlining 4 distinct, huge differences between the two and advocated we be more like one, and less like the other.
Here is the video. If you missed last week…please watch this. It is 40 minutes, which is about 35 minutes longer than the average male attention span. So, get a beer and watch it when you have some time. But, don’t miss it.
He doesn’t mention it here, but Nate Larkin is a pastor with a shocking personal story. The following video (we didn’t watch this on Monday night) is from the I Am Second organization, and is Nate’s story. The line that got my attention was “I picked up my first hooker on the way to lead a candlelight christmas eve service.” This video is only 8 minutes, but also worth watching.
A very common theme during the discussion was around Nate’s comment that his wife made, speaking about how she wouldn’t have been sad if he died. She said, “The only problem is, I don’t know if I could find 6 friends to carry your casket.” Many of the guys in the room either didn’t have 6 close friends (jonathan-type friends). Or, if they did have six friends, not all six of them really knew who they would be carrying. Men live a pretty isolated, surface level, existence these days. We have to change that. Living the life we want is a team sport, not an individual event.
The second common theme was around the story of the beginning of the friendship between Jonathan and David. Some guys were pretty decent at taking off their armor, but not many. Almost no one had ever given away their arrows. You’ll have to watch the video for this to resonate with you in a meaningful way.
It is the best way, maybe the only way, for men to have real, lasting friendships.
Like a sucker with a small attention span, I bit on the shorter video first. I’m glad I did b/c as I sat throught the longer one I began quickly to realize that he was telling the parallel story of his life both as Sampson and David. I was wondering if he was shaped by the story to lead his behaviors or if it was the other way (if he discovered the two characters after his turn of truth apart from St. Nate). In the end I saw it was both; in that Sampson was the childhood hero, but David was later the one discovered to truly be modeled after. – Brad