Can You Play?
1 Samuel 16:14-17:11
In today's reading, we have the setup for the battle between David and Goliath.
Photo by Daniele D'Andreti on Unsplash
Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul's servants said to him, "See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better." So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me." One of the young men answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him." So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me your son David who is with the sheep." Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul. And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight." And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him. 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. Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The 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. He 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. If 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." And the Philistine said, "Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together." When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. - 1 Samuel 16:14-17:11
I like to look at stories like this from a different perspective than most, as you may have figured out from these daily reflections.
Today, I'd like to discuss talent.
Why was David hired?
Okay, so he wasn't hired for a job in the modern sense, but Saul's servants went out to find him for his talent with the lyre, not for his ability to fell a lion with his sling.
The simple lesson here is that we never know which of our talents will lead to opportunities for us.
When I was hired by Shearson American Express, the market crashed, and funding for the project I was hired to run was canceled. People were being laid off. I had been hired for one thing and that one thing was no longer needed, so I was slotted to go.
Many people were leaving work early, because they had nothing to do, but I had just been hired, so I stayed. Just before quitting time, the head boss came looking for someone who could put a presentation together for him. He asked if I knew how to do that, and I did, so he asked me to stay and work on that for him.
When the day came for the layoffs, he called me into his office and gave me a choice. I could go home, or work for the IT Controller compiling reports for him.
Within a year, I was the controller of IT.
Could I have gotten that job if I applied for it? No. I had no relevant experience.
All I had was needed talent.
So, for me, the lesson was simple. Learn everything you can, because you never know when an opportunity to use your talent will come up.
Yes, I agree, that sounds too simple. But it is not easy. You have to have faith that the opportunity will come. You won't know what it looks like or when it will arrive. So, be ready.
And don't go home early.
More to come...