Daily Lesson for July 11, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from 1 Samuel chapter 16 verses 1 through 11:

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armoured with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, ‘Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.’ 10And the Philistine said, ‘Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.’ 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

In his book “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants” cultural critic and former New York Times writer Malcolm Gladwell explores how oftentimes the seemingly unlikely event of an underdog defeating an apparently much stronger force actually happens and how so. The basic thesis is that strength can become liability and coercive force can backfire. Or, someone I know vividly put it, “Heavy-handedness is never good for swatting flies.”

Goliath was mighty and strong. But his sheer size and strength, unmatchable in hand to hand combat, became liabilities at a distance. As Gladwell says, out in the open before David’s rocks, Goliath “didn’t stand a chance”.

Our strengths can easily become weaknesses. Our superior weaponry for one battle may be our end in another. This is a warning.

Beware our weaknesses. And beware even more our strengths; for in the end they may be our greatest weaknesses.