August 5, 2016 – Devotions based on passages from the book David and Goliath
Lopsided Conflict or How To Beat A Giant?

“Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.   David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them.   Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.  The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.   When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.   The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.   The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.”   But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.   This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,   and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.”   1 Samuel 17:38-47

“…much of what we consider valuable in our world arises out of…lopsided conflicts, because the act of facing overwhelming odds produces greatness and beauty. And…we consistently get these kinds of conflicts wrong. We misread them. We misinterpret them. Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness. And the fact of being an underdog can change people in ways that we often fail to appreciate: it can open doors and create opportunities and educate and enlighten and make possible what might otherwise have seemed unthinkable.” (David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell, p. 6) 

Giants come in all kinds of places, dress, and cultures. Throughout history there has been no lack of a giant – and they are not always the tall and strong kind of giant. Yes, there was Goliath – but we could also argue that David, the young shepherd who killed Goliath was also a giant in the history of the Israelites. The “Giants” of our lives are the people who seemed to be larger than life itself in how they lived, how they treated people, and what they did or did not accomplish in their time on this earth. Though she died at such a young age, could we not argue that Anne Frank was a giant? Frank Sinatra, Babe Ruth, Jim Thorpe, Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Kennedy are also candidates for the title of “Giant”.

But Malcolm Gladwell is trying to make a point about how we determine who is a giant. Giants are not always the biggest and strongest, the most famous or the richest. Some giants are people who are short in stature, but overcame great odds to change the world, if not leave a legacy of hope and accomplishment. Candidates for those kinds of giants would be Anne Frank, Richard Branson who is dyslexic, Benjamin Franklin who dropped out of school at age 10, Thomas Edison who failed approximately 10,000 times until he invented the light bulb, and Stephen King whose first novel was rejected 30 times.

As I said before, giants come in all kinds of packages, and many aren’t identified until they are gone. Let me leave you with a poem by Georgia Harkness: a poem she wrote at the passing of her father.

A giant pine, magnificent and old
Stood staunch against the sky and all around
Shed beauty, grace and power.
Within its fold birds safely reared their young.
The velvet ground beneath was gentle,
and the cooling shade gave cheer to passers-by.
Its towering arms a landmark stood, erect and unafraid,
As if to say, “Fear naught from life’s alarms”.

It fell one day.
Where it had dauntless stood was loneliness and void.
But men who passed paid tribute – and said,
“To know this life was good,
It left its mark on me. Its work stands fast”.
And so it lives. Such life no bonds can hold –
This giant pine, magnificent and old.

Pastor Dave