Facing Goliath

“David said to the Philistine, 'You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

Facing Goliath

An Introduction to The Parable of the Rotting Tooth

I have learned that when your foe is bigger than you can imagine killing, or when your enemy rises up so numerous it seems unlikely that survival is the outcome, the natural man is determined to look away. Worse still, it seems that time, although a great medicine for bad situations, can too quickly be prescribed. The outcome of these actions, in my opinion, is perfectly exemplified in "The Parable of the Rotting Tooth".

There once was a Business Owner who had a troublesome employee, but instead of doing the difficult thing and firing the employee, the Business Owner simply ignored the problem. The troublesome employee moved up in management, but the business was suffering. The Business owner decided to bring on a seasoned consultant, who immediately saw the issue and ordered the firing of the employee. Once the employee left, other staff members became angry, company sales plummeted, and even a few negative reviews appeared.

"See?" Said the Owner, "I told you we should not have fired the employee! Look at the damage that was done!"

"The tooth rotted the jaw and exposed the damage underneath it." the Consultant simply stated.

Who was right?

It's a difficult question to answer: If you kept the employee, then there would not be that immediate harm done to the company. If he stayed, then the rot would continue to grow. Maybe the diagnosis was wrong, and the employee was never really troublesome. Well, that's unlikely, as the owner and consultant both agreed. So what was the right thing to do? The owner should have faced Goliath right away, instead of waiting.

David is the Example to Follow

This parable gives a clear example of what happens when I ignore Goliath. Before I continue, let me also refresh you on the Old Testament story:

The Philistine giant Goliath, standing over nine feet tall, challenges the Israelites to send a warrior to fight him one-on-one. No one dares to face him—until David, a young shepherd, steps forward. Armed only with a slingshot and five stones, David refuses to wear armor, trusting instead in God’s power.

As Goliath mocks him, David declares that he fights in the name of the Lord. With one precise shot, he slings a stone that strikes Goliath in the forehead, knocking him down. David then kills Goliath with his own sword, securing victory for Israel.

One precise shot ended the war between the Philistines and the Israelites. And David's courage in this moment is seen through his denial of his own armor - something to be commonly used when facing a 9 foot tyrant. Where does such faith come from?

"The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."

- David, Giant Killer

David remembers his past, and what God has pulled him through before. And he uses his unreal experiences to shape is future actions. What a great reminder to look back, into our pasts, and remember the times that we conquered the enemy. Remember the time you figured it was all over? Remember when the odds were against you, and there was no way out? Yet here you are - alive and well! So, if you made it though then, why couldn't you make it through now?

This Affects Me, Personally

I will state, emphatically, that you will lose every time you look away from the problem. Every. Single. Time. In order for success to exist, there must be men and women courageous enough to look the problem directly in the eye and deal with the enemy. You will erupt into war, you will cause your jaw to suffer, you will lose financial stability, you will get sued, you will lose friends and family, you will find yourself surrounded by failure, you will be stabbed in the back, you will lose if you do not face Goliath.

And, though all of this, I am not to fear. David's shortcomings were shadowed by his faith in the One who displays His strengths in the weakness of man. So when I am timid, when I find myself looking away, and when I have looked away for too long in such a way that the rot has spread, I am determined to chase after that issue and slay the thing in the way of God's plan! Anything less is a recipe for failure.

And I will only surround myself with Goliath-killers. There is nothing worse than a man who ignores Goliath and forces you to share in its consequence. My team and I will be determined to chase down the big problems, face the otherwise unconquerable, and heal the damage done by men who do not do the same. This is how we will find success: To remember the Goodness of God in our past and allow that to determine our actions in the future.

I am exited for what the future holds, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to do hard things. Enjoy watching the journey that I am on, so that one day you may celebrate in the successes that conquering the enemy produces!

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?