Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is Judges 16:18-21:

"When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, 'Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.' Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' 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. And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison." — Judges 16:18-21

Yesterday, Samson gave in to Delilah's toxic empathy. He mistook love for surrender, compassion for compromise. And the moment he did, the trap was sprung. His vow was broken. His strength was gone.

Notice the devastating effects:

Blinded: His eyes gouged out—sin always blinds us first, dulling our discernment.
Bound: Shackled in bronze—compromise doesn't free you; it chains you.
Ground down: Forced to grind grain in prison—the mighty judge of Israel reduced to slave labor.

This is the natural progression of toxic empathy and social tolerance. When you give up righteousness to avoid being labeled "intolerant," you don't just lose ground—you lose sight. You lose freedom. You lose strength.

We also see it in culture. Churches that once stood firm on God's Word now compromise to be "welcoming." Leaders soften the truth so they won't be misunderstood. Families surrender holiness in the name of keeping peace. And just like Samson, the strength departs—and many don't even realize God's presence has left the room.

Look again at Gaza. It was the city Samson once strutted out of with the gates on his shoulders (Judges 16:3). Now it's the city where he's paraded around in chains. The very place where he thought he was untouchable becomes the place of his humiliation. That's the effect of compromise:

What you once thought you mastered eventually masters you.

ASK THIS:

1. Where have you mistaken tolerance for love, and ended up weakening your faith?
2. How has compromise blinded you to sin's danger?
3. What "chains" do you feel in your life right now because of past concessions?
4. How can you return to strength by standing firm in God's truth again?

DO THIS:

• Write down one area where compromise has robbed you of strength.
• This week, resist one small cultural lie with clear, biblical truth.

PRAY THIS:

Father, forgive me for the places I've traded truth for acceptance. Open my eyes where I've been blinded. Break the chains where I've been bound. Restore my strength so I can walk faithfully with You again. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"No Compromise."

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is Judges 16:15-17:

"And she said to him, 'How can you say, "I love you," when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.' And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. And he told her all his heart, and said to her, '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.'" — Judges 16:15-17

Delilah didn't defeat Samson with force—she wore him down with feelings. "If you love me, prove it. If you care, give me this. If you don't, you're holding back." Samson caved, not because he was overpowered, but because he couldn't stand the weight of emotional manipulation.

This is called "toxic empathy"—the kind of false compassion that confuses love with surrender. Toxic empathy says: "If you love me, you'll accept what I want, even if it violates your convictions." It's empathy weaponized.

And doesn't that sound familiar? Our culture preaches a version of tolerance that demands the death of truth. "Affirm my choices, celebrate my lifestyle, bless my rebellion—or else you're hateful, judgmental, intolerant." That's the same spirit Delilah used on Samson: emotional blackmail to make him lay down what God called sacred.

Samson gave in, and in doing so, he forfeited his righteousness. He handed over the very thing God set apart in him. And when believers cave to cultural "tolerance," we do the same. We give up holiness for acceptance. We trade truth for applause. We exchange conviction for the cheap approval of people who don't worship our God.

Love can be loving without surrendering truth. Jesus was the most compassionate man who ever lived, yet he never compromised truth or righteousness. He loved sinners without affirming their sin. And we are called to do the same.

Toxic empathy may appear to be kindness, but in the end, it costs us our strength, integrity, and influence. So love, without compromise.

ASK THIS:

1. Where are you tempted to compromise truth because you don't want to be misunderstood?
2. How does "toxic empathy" show up in your relationships or workplace?
3. When have you traded conviction for cultural acceptance?
4. What would it look like to love people with compassion but without surrendering righteousness?

DO THIS:

• Identify one area where you feel pressured to soften or surrender God's truth.
• Pray for courage to hold the line with grace and conviction.
• Practice speaking truth in love this week—kindly, but clearly.
• Memorize Isaiah 5:20: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil."

PRAY THIS:

Lord, help me resist the pull of toxic empathy. Give me courage to love people with grace, but never at the cost of Your truth. Strengthen me to stand firm when culture demands tolerance that violates righteousness. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Christ Our Hope in Life and Death."

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is Judges 16:10-14:

"Then Delilah said to Samson, 'Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies; please tell me how you might be bound.' And he said to her, 'If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.' So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. Then Delilah said to Samson, 'Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.' And he said to her, 'If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.' So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!' But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web." — Judges 16:10-14

Delilah wasn't subtle anymore. By now it was obvious: she was working with the Philistines to trap Samson. She asked, and he answered with half-truths and games. She tested him, and he kept breaking free. Over and over again, Samson played along.

Why? Because repeated lies dull our senses. At first, you know it's a setup. You laugh it off, you toy with it, you think you're still in control. But the more you tolerate it, the less dangerous it feels. Eventually, what once seemed unthinkable becomes normal.

That's exactly how sin and culture work today. We're told the same falsehoods so often, people start to believe them:

"You be you."
"You've got this."
"Truth is whatever you feel."
"Gender is just a choice."
"Faith doesn't belong in the workplace. Keep it to yourself."

Repeat a lie long enough, and people let their guard down. Israel did it with Gaza—tolerating an enemy they should have driven out—and generations later, that compromise still haunts them.

We've seen the same thing in our time. Take marriage. Marriage was once honored in our culture as a covenant between a man and a woman. Now it's redefined, mocked, and replaced with hookup culture and hyper-sexualism in nearly every movie, ad, and classroom. Lies repeated long enough become the air we breathe, and if we're not alert, we start to tolerate what God never intended.

Samson thought he was just playing games. But every laugh, every half-truth, every little compromise was softening him up for the kill. That's how lies work—they don't strike all at once; they wear you down. And we face the same danger. You can't toy with deception and expect to stand strong. Every time you entertain a lie, it dulls your discernment, lowers your guard, and prepares you for a bigger fall. Left unchecked, small lies become chains—and eventually, those chains own you.

ASK THIS:

1. Where are you letting repeated lies numb your discernment?
2. Which cultural "half-truths" are you tempted to tolerate because they're everywhere?
3. How has compromise in small things weakened you in bigger battles?

DO THIS:

• Identify one lie you've started to accept without thinking.
• Hold it up against Scripture—what does God actually say?
• Replace that lie with a verse of truth (write it, memorize it, share it).

PRAY THIS:

Lord, open my eyes to the lies I've started to tolerate. Give me discernment to see through deception and strength to stand on Your truth, no matter how often the world repeats its lies. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Voice of Truth."