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Text: 1 Samuel 17:12-23; 32-51 ● David… his name is synonymous with Goliath. Even if you’ve never read the bible, you probably know the story. We use it as a metaphor for the under-dog taking down the seemingly undefeatable foe. It highlights the ‘unlikely’; the delusional hero who we all hope- deep inside- will win, but would never offer our public support… that’s ridiculous! ● There appears to be a fine line between courage and stupidity. So fine, that in life, it’s barely distinguishable. If we push through the fear and succeed (survive)- we’re applauded as people of ‘courage’; if we fail, we’re pitied as the poor ‘idiot that didn’t know any better’. ● We’re all ‘phobic’ to some degree! Some of those fears are rational and good to hold on to; some are irrational, but not easily discarded. Facing your fears is no guarantee that you will overcome them. In fact, sometimes our experience just complicates things and further validates our fears (i.e. Uncle Joe: on vacation, he concluded that my hesitancy to enter the deep end of the pool was directly connected with some irrational fear. He reasoned that I would conquer my fear of being in water over my head, and thus better enjoy the entire aquatic experience, by being pushed in unexpectedly). Unfortunately, my Uncle Joe was a ‘plumber’ and not a ‘child psychologist’. ● Some would say, ‘This was David’s 15 minutes’. ‘15 minutes of fame’ is an expression coined by the American artist Andy Warhol. It refers to the fleeting nature of fame; a moment, an event, thrusts us into the spotlight until the general public gets bored with us. ● David seemingly went from ‘shepherd’ to ‘hero-warrior’ momentarily (until we read his resume in 1 Samuel 17:34-37). It wasn’t about his “15 minutes”; the moment provided just a more public opportunity to express the life being formed in relative obscurity. What he did publicly was merely the consequence of his private activity. ● You see, David has already been anointed King, but he’s not the King yet! He’s acting like a King because that’s who he really is! There’s the sense that he’s being shaped into who he has been called to be (much like our lives). ● So, we spend a lifetime on this journey toward ‘integrity’- trying to get our ‘inner-life’ to match up with our ‘outer-life’. Trying to get all the pieces of our life to align. Integrity is the result of a series of seemingly insignificant decisions/choices. In fact, integrity refuses to make the distinction because it is convinced that it’s all ‘inter-related’. ● As humans, we are famous for our ‘duplicity’ (doubleness; deceit). We have developed elaborate disguises in our attempts to hide from ourselves and others- even from God. Our own duplicity (lack of integrity) convinces us that everyone’s got something they’re hiding; everyone’s got an ‘ulterior motive’ (‘What’s your angle, David?’) We’re not only surprised, but often suspicious about unprovoked acts of selflessness. ● The beauty of integrity is that we can be the same person all the time; ‘truth’ (life from God’s perspective) is bringing together all the areas of our life which were previously compartmentalized. Integrity doesn’t mean that we’re without sin, just without pretense! We don’t have to fake it. Reflections… ►Life is always a journey from cowardice to courage! Life presents us with one of two options: “fear” or “faith” (usually it’s an unexplainable blending of both). If fear is an emotion, faith is a decision. ● The most frequent command in the Bible… “fear not”; and, although that’s exactly what we were hoping God would say, we have difficulty preventing ourselves from being dominated by it. And, just telling us to stop has not proven effective either. It’s so easy because we don’t even need to look for reasons to be afraid; it comes naturally. We’re afraid of being alone and of being together, of being unloved, of being abandoned; we’re afraid of making the wrong choices, of looking stupid, of not being noticed, not fitting in. We’re afraid we won’t get the job and then, once we do, afraid we won’t do it well. We plan for marriages that we’re afraid won’t last and children we’re afraid won’t turn out well; we anticipate retirement, but we’re afraid we won’t be able to make it or that we’ll die prematurely. 1 John 4:18 “…perfect love dispels all fear”. Love is the only thing powerful enough to prevent us from being dominated by fear; it’s the only response which counters all of those fears (i.e. never left alone, place to belong, valued not determined by performance, etc.) ►Courage is the unlikely decision you make in the face of fear! Sometimes the situation demands that we trust God beyond the scope of our experience; but, when those times come, we better have some type of experience from which to draw (David had no experience with giants, but he did with lions and bears). ● Every challenging life-circumstance brings us face to face with: 1) our fears 2) our inadequacies 3) our God Sometimes it seems that… The key to “avoiding” fear is to make sure that your challenges are always smaller than your God! ►Courage is integrity gone public! Courage is what integrity looks like when your convictions are being challenged. Courage is the passion (strength of heart) we gain from seeing ourselves responding in ‘God-honoring’ ways, even when we are by ourselves. ►It was integrity that prevented David from concluding, “They’re just sheep!” It’s being where you’re ‘not supposed to be’; doing what you’re ‘not supposed to do’. ● None of us would have faulted David for losing the occasional sheep; none of us would have expected for him to respond in such a way. Who would have known, right?! Courage is the passion we display which has been aroused by integrity. Integrity is what allows the least likely and seemingly least qualified individual to achieve an extraordinary life. Courage is the “less than glamorous” commitment to doing what is right. ►Integrity helps courage become more instinctive. Crisis rarely affords us the opportunity to weigh our options. When our hearts are being shaped like God’s, we not only find the motivation, but the capacity to respond. Courage is the weight of your conviction when there’s no time to weigh your options! ►In life, you respond according to your training! The shape our lives are taking both by the things/influences we say ‘yes’ to and the things we say ‘no’ to. Training has both a permissive and restrictive quality to it. ● Article about fire-fighters during 9-11… One observer commented: “As everyone else was running out, they were running in”. What makes them do it? Are some just naturally more ‘heroic’? Didn’t they know any better? It’s what they were trained to do. The right information coupled with experience allows them to trust their instincts and respond without hesitation. Courage doesn’t act out of ‘disregard’ for life, but out of a strong conviction about life! ● Integrity is what’s left when skill, training and position have failed; when ability and expertise are unable to produce the type of courage necessary to encounter the moment. ►If we are not careful, after the grizzlies and the Goliaths come the Bathshebas! Those who kill giants publicly are often taken down through seemingly private indiscretions. ● I’m not sure why our moments of greatest success and achievement seem to be accompanied by our greatest vulnerability. Perhaps it’s ‘pride’. We start relying on our skills and talent; we’re convinced that it’s our proficiency with ‘rocks and slings’ which has led to our success. We no longer revel in our ‘chosenness’ (we’ve ‘gotten over grace’); our confidence is no longer birthed in weakness and dependence, but is rooted in self-adulation and self-sufficiency.
Goliaths happen when everyone’s watching;
Bathshebas happen when no one’s watching! |
