BIBLE READING

I Samuel 17: 8-10

Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, ‘Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.’ Then the Philistine said, ‘This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.’

REFLECTION

Not only does Goliath look intimidating – he also sounds intimidating.

In those days sometimes they would have what was called a 'representative battle'. Instead of whole armies going up against each other, both sides would chooses their best warrior and they would fight and whoever won, it meant their whole army had won. Goliath, the Philistine representative, stands there and taunts the Israelites to send someone to take him on.

There was a lot at stake in such a fight. Look at what Goliath says: 'If you win we will become your servants, and if I win, you become our servants.' This wasn’t a playground scrap. The outcome of this fight was going to determine Israel’s future. Would they be slaves or free.

In the same way, you need to know that some of the battles you fight are more important than others.

There’s some battles you fight that if you lose it’s no big deal. Life goes on fairly uninterrupted. But then there’s other battles you will face and the outcome of these can greatly impact your future. If you fight it and win - in 5 years your life will look this way. If you do nothing, give in and lose - in 5 years your life will look completely different, and not in a good way.

When you face opposition or obstacles, weigh up how important or significant they are and pour your passion and energy into those which have the greatest impact on your future. Don’t waste your time or energy on fighting battles that really aren’t that big a deal.

“Choose your battles wisely. After all, life isn't measured by how many times you stood up to fight. It's not winning battles that makes you happy, but it's how many times you turned away and chose to look into a better direction. Life is too short to spend it on warring. Fight only the most, most, most important ones, let the rest go.”
(Joy Bell)