EDante, AIT home, 13 February 2016
This reflection begins with the famous Old Testament story of David and Goliath that we loved very much when we were kids. From this story, I wanted to draw lessons in overcoming difficulties in life. David and Goliath The story is related in chapter 17 of 1 Samuel. The Philistines were stationed on one hill and the Israelites on an opposite hill, with a valley between them. The Philistines were much stronger, experienced and dangerous fighters. Due to the terrain, however, neither of them dared to attack first as it requires one to descend down the hill and then makes a suicidal climb to the enemy’s hill. Finally, the Philistines had enough. They decided the terms to resolve the deadlock through a one-on-one combat. The Philistines sent their greatest champion down in the valley. His name is Goliath, six and half feet tall wearing bronze helmet. He carried a javelin, spear, and sword. He had a shield-bearer near him. Goliath humiliated and challenged the Israelites for a one-on-one battle. The Israelites were terrified. No one stood up to the challenge. After some time, a young shepherd boy David came to the army camp to bring food to his brothers. He heard about the challenge and came forward to volunteer. King Saul, the leader of the Israelites, refused because he was just a boy. But David was determined. He had fought before against more dangerous enemies, like lions and bears, who attacked his sheep from the herd. Saul was obliged. He had no options anyway. So David descended from the hill towards the giant standing in the valley. Thus began the history’s most famous battle. David defeated Goliath. The story teaches us how to behave when faced with difficult problems. There are many challenges in life from misfortunes, sickness and accidents to separations, bankruptcy and unemployment. These can become our own giants that cause distress, anguish and fear. So let us draw some lessons from the story of David and Goliath and other people in the bible on how they overcame their giants in life. You will have problems Christian life is not an escape from problems. Problems are very much part and parcel of ordinary life. Jesus warns us that “in this world you will have problems” (John 16:33). God does not intend to remove problems from our lives, but rather helps us overcome them. Our problems are closely linked with our fallen nature. At the time of David, the Israelites lived under the presence and guidance of God through the prophet Samuel. Upon their request, God anointed Saul, the first king of Israel, “This is the man of whom I told you, he is to govern my people” (1 Samuel 9:17). In spite of this, God allowed the Philistines to inflict difficulties in Israel. Joseph, the son of Jacob (Genesis 37) is another character in the Old Testament who encountered great problems. Joseph went to look for his brothers in the desert. But the brothers betrayed him and sold him into Egypt as slave. While working as a slave, Joseph was tempted by the wife of his Egyptian master, Potiphar. He ran away from temptation, and yet was accused wrongly and put in prison. Even with all these problems, Joseph remained faithful to the Lord. The New Testament tells us of the life of suffering that Jesus lived from the moment of birth to his death on the cross. At the peak of Mary’s pregnancy, the couple had to walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem in extreme cold weather. When they arrived, they found no place in town to give birth to Jesus. When Jesus was a few months old, they were forced to flee to Egypt to escape from Herod’s slaughter of children. They lived as refugees in a desert place in Egypt for about four years. When they returned to Nazareth, they survived with meagre means and suffered persecutions. At the age of 13, I left my parents’ village to attend high school in the city where my grandparents had lived. At that time, their clothing business was heading towards bankruptcy after decades of success. They started selling off other properties to keep the business alive. My old grandparents were too occupied with the family business to look after me. Oftentimes, I found myself with meagre food and money, and with nominal parental care. I soon learned what other poor kids had done to survive -- selling newspapers in the street, collecting trash for cash and accepting shoe cleaning services. I managed to stay in high school for two years, helped with the little income I had earned, and experienced the burden of living alone and uncared for at a very young age. This experience turned out to be a crucial turning point in my life. I learned the most important lesson of responsibility, independence, survival and the value of work and money. But do not create problems Yes, we often create our own crosses. These are self-inflicted problems. Gambling results in financial problems, thief and other crimes. It also affects relationships and health. Smoking can cause cancer and many other related diseases. About half a million people die each year in the United States due to smoking cigarettes or being exposed to cigarette smoke. Alcoholism leads to social and health problems, loss of job and bankruptcy. Alcohol use can affect all parts of the body, but particularly the brain, liver, pancreas and immune system. Flirting results to sexual sins and divorce. Social media enhances interactions between sexes that at times develop into an illicit relation. Materialistic behaviour or consumerism leads to financial problems and poverty. Hatred leads to a bitter life devoid of peace and joy. Problems occur out of our own habits. They can be prevented by living according to Christian principles. About a month ago, I decided to quit coffee. I had been drinking coffee on a daily basis for about seven years. I knew that coffee has negative effects on health. It causes stress and tension. It also causes long term health problems affecting the heart, lungs, stomach and skin. Although my consumption was minimal, the diuretic effect of caffeine started to bother me. I had to go to the toilet after each cup of coffee. The final straw happened when I was caught in a heavy traffic with the urge to go to the toilet because of coffee. I felt it was not worth the trouble anymore so I decided to quit. Now I am feeling much better without the effect of caffeine. Externally-inflicted problems also exist. Natural disaster is one of them. Many people lost property, love ones and means of living in a matter of days as a result of typhoons, earthquakes, floods and others. Accidents in many forms occur daily shattering many lives. They happen beyond our own influence and unexpectedly. Economic crisis also causes unemployment. As problems can’t be completely avoided, one must therefore learn to live with them and accept any consequences. This attitude helps one to remain calm and sensible when confronted with difficulties. If problems come, face them Going back to the story of David, King Saul prepared David for the fight. He dressed him with his own garment and gave him a sword and helmet. David took them off because he was not used to wearing them. Instead, he took his staff in his hand, pick up five smooth stones, and put them in the bag, with his sling in his hand, and then approached Goliath. When seeing a boy, healthy and handsome, Goliath laughed at David saying “Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?” David replied, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.” After the short conversation, the story goes on to tell how David struck Goliath with a stone using his sling in just one attempt. Goliath fell to the ground unconscious and David killed him with Goliath’s own sword and declared victory for Israel over the Philistines. Let us try to unravel David’s secret. Goliath expected a man-to-man combat through human strength and handheld weapons. David knew that he had no chance of defeating Goliath in that manner. He recognized his weakness and lack of experience in a man-to-man battle. What David had were stones and a sling. It required extraordinary skills and practice to master this weapon. Once it is mastered, it became a very devastating weapon. From my research, I learned that slingers of the old days can hit a bird in flight. They could also hit a coin from as far away as they could see it. An experienced slinger could kill or seriously injure a target at a distance of up to 100 meters. Being hit by a stone from a slinger is like being hit by a baseball from a pitcher. This was precisely how it had happened when David struck Goliath. When the stone hit Goliath, it sank into his forehead. In reality, Goliath had no match against David. His javelin, spear and sword were absolutely useless and his strength was meaningless against David’s weapon. Although David possessed a powerful weapon, they were nothing compared to his weapon of faith. He came armed with trust in God which he learned while tending his father's sheep: “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’s faith gave him the courage to fight Goliath. David believed that Israel was guided by God. He considered Goliath’s mocking against the Israelite army as a great insult to God. David’s faith was his greatest secret in dealing with his giant. In 1993, while at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok for my graduate studies, I was offered a short-term assignment with the United Nations, which continued for at least the next ten years. My employment was based on short-term and temporary contracts, at times for one month duration with no extension guaranteed. UN policy barred me from being considered for any permanent positions because my nationality was already over-represented in the UN secretariat. I accepted the reality that my temporary employment in the UN would not last and prepared myself for any eventual worst scenario, such as pulling all my five children out from international schools, if necessary. It also gave me great comfort to recall God's promise -- “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25). The key to keep my peace was complete trust in the Lord and acceptance of my insecure employment situation. I have overcome the world While Jesus warns us of our problems, he also comforts us of his grace: “In this world you will have problems. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus was tempted in the desert. He was mocked and abused by the authorities. He was rejected and humiliated by different groups of people. One of his apostles betrayed Him. In the end, he suffered and died on the cross. From a human point of view, he failed in his trials. But this was not so. He overcame his trials by remaining faithful until the end. He embraced them without resorting to any sinful actions. Jesus therefore overcame the world. Many of us lack patience when faced with difficult trials. We easily become overwhelmed with the emotion of anger, fear and anxiety. Yet these emotions hamper our ability to make sensible and rational decisions. We easily lose our resolve to remain kind, gentle and compassionate, and resort to revenge, anger and hatred. Peter, the Apostle, explains that “these trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1 Peter 1:7). David reinforces the same truth: “You tested us, O God, tried us as silver tried by fire” (Psalm 66:10). Finally, in his book Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis says: “It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing.” My wife and I have devoted many years in the community of Couples for Christ. In this group, we have witnessed the lives of many families and the trials they are facing: financial troubles, joblessness, divorce, infidelities, marital quarrels, loneliness, depressions and the like. However, there was one particular experience that had left a very deep impression in us. It occurred about seven years ago to a young couple in the community. At that time, they were a very happy couple blessed with a newly born baby. When the baby reached 3 months old, the most terrifying thing a parent could ever experience had happened -- the baby died in his sleep, with no prior warning or signs of illness. The doctor had no explanation. The loud cry and devastating agony of the young parents were excruciating. The community helped in all possible ways to comfort them and made all arrangements for the funeral. A little more than a year after the terrible incident, the same couple had another baby. The second baby also died suddenly at the age of 3 months. No words could describe their pain. Some of us in the community witnessed the moment when the doctor had tried to revive the lifeless infant to no avail. In the end, the doctor blamed a genetic defect causing these deaths. After these terrible experience, the couple left to their home country to start a new life. About a year ago, I was amazed to hear that they had returned to Bangkok with a 3-year old child for a short holiday. I believe that their time of trial was over and glad to see them victorious. In conclusion, we must prepare our hearts to confront our giants. When problems come, we must find the courage to embrace them with patience and faith to invoke the Lord to strengthen us and seek his help. Abandoning the situation or just giving up is not an option. We must face our problems with the right attitude. For my brothers and sisters who are trying to serve God, we have learned that Jesus did not promise to make our lives as beautiful as a flowery carpet or easy and glorious from a human point of view. His way, his service, his work is sacrifice, renunciation and sorrow. As Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24). It is not easy to become good. In fact, it is the greatest labour. But the reward is heaven and it is therefore worthwhile getting exhausted in such labour. Comments are closed.
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