9th October 2021

The lockdown season has thrown up many stories of horrible haircuts that have been inflicted upon family members – some who have been willing participants, and others who have been summoned to the chair and subject to all manner of follicle abuse, from blunt scissors to silver bowls. To my very great surprise and relief, my wife, who was entrusted with the clippers in our family, proved herself to be quite the blending queen.

There have been many noteworthy haircuts in the history of the Bible. Absalom, David’s son, annually cut off his luxurious ponytail, weighed the result, and never failed to score at the Royal Easter Show. The prophet Ezekiel hacked off his own hair with a sword, and used the severed strands to deliver to his generation a picture-talk on judgement. The apostle Paul had his locks shorn at Jerusalem, and dedicated them to God in order to complete a holy vow.

The worst haircut however must go to Samson, who sat willingly in the barber’s chair at Delilah’s Hair Salon. After several failed attempts at braiding, she suddenly lopped off his dreadlocks while he slept. And the mess she caused, was not just reflected in the mirror, but in his heart, for there, the Spirit had lifted, and the man had lost his strength. Usually the hairdresser is to blame if the haircut goes awry, but in the case of Samson, who else is to blame for his shonky short back and sides?

DM 9^th October 2021