Unfair Advantage?
You know the story. Little guy defeats giant. Was it skill or wit or both?
When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him. David said to Saul, "Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God." David said, "The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you!" Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them." So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field." But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand." When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. - 1 Samuel 17:31-49
In his book, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell provides an interesting twist on the story in today’s Old Testament reading from the book of Samuel.
He says that David was not the disadvantaged and inexperienced underdog we think he was in his match up against the giant, Goliath. Instead, he says, it was David who had the advantage over the bigger, stronger opponent.
David knows he has what it takes to do the job. He is not just boasting when he tells Saul he is an expert with the sling. It is how he has protected his sheep. And his advantage is distance.
Like a gun against a club or knife, David ’s weapon allows him to stand a safe distance away from the enemy, giving him a significant advantage.
Goliath, on the other hand, needed to be close to win. His advantage came from his size and strength, and he was covered in armor to protect him from any weapon used in close combat.
But Gladwell points out a few clues in the story that led him to believe Goliath was nearly blind. He came across a paper by an Israeli endocrinologist who proposed that Goliath had a rare medical condition that caused him to lose his eyesight.
Goliath sends his shield bearer out before him, to help him see who his enemy was and where he stood.
Goliath calls David to him.
The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.”
He wanted David to come to him, because he couldn’t see him. But David knew his strengths and abilities, and played the game on his terms. God, he said, has given me the tools I need to win.
Gladwell uses this story to explain how small, upstart companies have managed to defeat giants in their field, and I think he’s onto something.
The Bible stories are not just historical accounts of an ancient culture in its struggle to come to know God. Yes, that is the overarching theme, and we can discuss the many times we humans have failed to understand God’s love for us, leading us into temptation and despair.
But the stories are much more than a record of our failures. They are clues from God about living life fully, winning out against adversity and making a difference in the world.
Like David, we have the tools to do what it takes to make that difference, but all too often, we are led astray, told to believe it takes more than we have, like Saul telling David he needed his armor, armor that only weighed him down and made it impossible for him to walk.
Imagine if we all had the confidence of David. We would probably sound just as cocky and self-assured as he does.
David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”
David was able to defeat Goliath because he saw the situation as one where the old ways wouldn’t work. What was needed was something new, something unexpected, and the guts to put himself out there.
David had faith and his faith did not fail him.
More to come...