on giant killing

“When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!” Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.”

1 Samuel 17:31-40

What a great story. How amazing that teeny, tiny David could defeat the giant Goliath! What kind of giants are there in your life? Maybe relationships that have gone bad? Maybe the fear that you’re not good enough? Maybe pressure from your studies? But all it takes is some faith. Even if you’re small and weak, even if it seems like you can’t make it, all you need is to have enough faith, and go out there and slay those giants, and God will give you the victory!

What I just told you was a very common way of talking about this Bible story when I was growing up. It sounds really encouraging, right? You can do anything you can imagine, even something as impossible as a little boy killing a giant, if you have enough faith. 

But that always bothered me — have faith. What does it mean? Have faith in what? In myself? In God? What’s the hope? That God will help me just because I think he will? That I can get what I want because I wish hard enough?

Which is why I’m very grateful to my older brothers and sisters in London who set me straight on this: I don’t think this Bible story is about killing your giants through faith. At least that’s not the main point.

Think about it: if this story is about getting what you want through having faith, it means you’re the main character. Everything is about you. Everything depends on you. You kill the giant if you have enough faith. God grants your wishes if you have enough faith. And if things go bad? Well, maybe you should’ve had more faith. 

Too bad God couldn’t do his job because you didn’t have enough faith. Too bad you couldn’t fix that relationship because you didn’t have enough faith. Too bad you bombed that test because you didn’t have enough faith. Too bad your niece is still really sick, because you didn’t have enough faith. If only you weren’t the main character in the story. But you are. Maybe you should have more faith, then.

Do you see how wonky it is to read the Bible this way? It’s not about God, it’s about us. And worse, it’s about us performing well. Can you imagine the pressure, the guilt? And it doesn’t take a genius to know that sometimes, despite us trying our best, praying really hard, and having lots of faith, things can still go bad.

No — this is a weird way to read the Bible. Let me show you a better way.

In this story, David goes to kill a giant. He will become King someday because God has already chosen him, but for now he’s just a normal boy. He goes to see his brothers who have gone to war, and he sees them being really scared of this giant. And David is filled with a great love for God, and without using any impressive weapons, he kills the giant. And he wins a great victory for his brothers.

Let me tell you about another King. Another King chosen by God, but he just looked like a normal man. He saw his friends who were held prisoner by something terrible, something they didn’t even understand: they’re held prisoner by sin and fear and death. And this King was filled with a great love for God, and without using any weapons, he gave his own life and won a great victory, won everlasting life, for all people.

The second King I told you about is of course Jesus. But do you see the parallels with David? What David did in our passage today is a faint shadow of what Jesus would do about 1000 years after David. It was like a preview of that final victory for God’s people. And just as how we are not the main characters in the story of Jesus, we’re not the main characters in the story of David. Just as how David’s brothers enjoyed a victory that they didn’t win, just as how they trusted in God’s chosen King, even if it didn’t look like he would win, that’s what we do: we put our trust in Jesus, who defeated sin and death for us.

What does this mean for us? It’s not to say that there are no more struggles, and no more giants. Of course there are. But we should see things differently. These aren’t our giants that get beaten by our faith, so that we get what we want. When we face the struggle and fight, we fight for the right reasons. No more fighting to prove we’re worth it; no more fighting because if we don’t, we’re nothing; no more fighting like everything in the world depends on us. Because it doesn’t. It depends on God’s chosen King, who’s big enough to see us through. He has won us the victory over sin and death. He is good enough for us. He clears our name for us. He will provide for us. We’re just enjoying the victory he has already won.

So instead fight because you’re just following in the footsteps of the King who’s won us the victory. Fight because fighting for good things is the right thing to do. Fight for others who need your help. And fight knowing that sometimes there are things we don’t understand. Sometimes there are things that seem like a loss. But remember that the King has won already, and it’s going to be ok.