Sampson I

"...If the Pantene racket had been up and running back then, they would have made a mint from this group..."

Sampson glanced round. His band of loyal devotees appeared to be in a state of phsycological decline. Exponentially, a universal deppression was weighing heavy on the shoulders of them all. These were the Sampsonites. A bunch of "the cool dudes" who followed Sampson round, observing everything he did, re-enacting his awesome moves which he used in his frequent clashes with lions, annoying princes and several thousand opponents who he pulverised with the jawbone of a donkey.

This was one pretty special guy, as Sampson's band had recognised. Sampson was happy for them to follow him round and join in with him on his excursions. Usually, they were an excellent team, dispersing and destroying their parasitic enemies. All the guys in the band had long hair. If the Pantene racket had been up and running back then, they would have made a mint from this group. They all struggled to keep their hair from being knotted, dirty and smelly. All save Sampson. Sampson never needed to brush or wash his hair. It flowed over his broad shoulders and down his strong back, down, past his knees, just now dragging along the ground. Addmittedly, the hair dragging on the ground did get a bit dirty. Nothing a bit of Persil wouldn't remove, though. Unfortunately for Sammy - Persil wasn't around back then, just like Pantene. Sampson made do with the many flowing brooks of crystal clear liquid that issued out of the backs of most of the cities they camped outside. Obviously the old settling ponds were doing a good job... The point is, though - Sampson's rich, full red hair had each one of the six signs.

But they were despondent. Johnarus, one of Sampson's closest friends had just that afternoon taken his life. Along with the rest of Sampson's follIowers, Johnarus prized his fairly long, slightly curly and brown hair. While not being up to Sampson's standard or length, Johnarus had spent a lot of time looking after his hair, often shaking his head up and down in time to whatever tunes were playing - his large crop of hair flinging wildly round, getting in peoples eyes. Alas for Johnarus. Brought before the council of the Baldisthbest, his hair had been condemned. That afternoon, his hair was to be removed from his head in public.

This was the same as the death penalty for young Johnarus, as well the devious members of the Baldisthbest council knew. After the hearing the chop, the blind-folded Johnarus who couldn't bear the shame of an uncovered head, ended his life.

Sampson himself, was devestated. Johnarus, whom he had had such great hopes in, whom he believed to be a sincere and righteous Jew, following God, and himself, had killed himself.* Johnarus had done the thing at the time, which he believed to be fitting, even if not right. It was a noble thing to do, showing the World that what he believed was more important that his life itself.**

To be continued...

*For a Christian to commit suicide, is this a damning sin? No. Jesus died for all our sins. Perseverence of the Saints, and Irresistible Grace explain that none of God's children will ever totally fall away. Thus, for instance, Johnarus, in his backslidden state, commiting suicide, is ending something that God created, in a way that God did not intend it to be ended. Of course, suicide is a sin. But since Johnarus was a believer before he murdered himself, there is no reason to believe that he wasn't really a Cistian simply because he sinned. To God, even a small sin is as great as a "big" sin. To God, all sin is abhorrent. Especially the sin of not coming to Him and confessing our sins, and letting him rule our lives. This is the worst sin of all that will ultimately damn us.

**For the Christian, the day of one's death is more blessed than the day of one's birth. In birth, we enter a world of sin. In death, we enter eternal bliss and holiness.

disclaimer: I wrote this quite a while ago. All characters are entirely fictional except Johnarus