My child, eat honey, for it is good,

and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste.

In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul.

If you find it, you will have a bright future,

and your hopes will not be cut short.

            - Proverbs 24:13-14, NLT

      There is a vacant lot sandwiched between squat houses and ragged concrete that lay derelict – like something out of the rust belt in the Mid-West – and none pay it too much attention except when city ordinances compel the out-of-state owner to hire a mower to cut unruly, knee high grass, yellowed and dead. Off in the back corner of the lot is an unlikely tree. It has grown big and strong, tapping into some unseen & deep water source throughout the dry months. There’s plenty of shade underneath this tree. It’s the most inviting thing in the yard. Around its trunk is a faded, stretched out old tire. It’s been with the tree so long that as the tree grew it lifted the tire off the ground and now wears it like a belt with no buckle. The trunk is narrower at the tire’s fitting & swollen above and below the tire. What once provided some shelter from the elements has become a handicap. Here is to be found the tree’s greatest weakness.

      Sometimes we try to be somebody for someone and it stunts our growth.

      The Bible is full of remarkable stories. Take, for example, the David & Goliath saga found in the pages of 1 Samuel. Most people know something of the story. Even if they have never read through it themselves, they understand one of its main points: don’t underestimate the underdog. Fair enough, but it’s much more compelling then the popular treatment. In ancient times, warfare was often conducted one vs one. Even in pitched battles of hundreds & thousands, soldiers would cross swords with one another in singles combat style rather than in a formation like a phalanx. This was often chaotic as both sides would be prone to retreat and then dig in, dragging out battles for months and even years, costing nations resources, time and lives. Thus came about a simple solution to end such hostilities that both sides could agree upon: the battle of the champions.

      Each side would select a champion representing the best of the best. In Homer’s epic, The Iliad, the Trojan’s pit their royal blood, Prince Hector, against the Mycenaean Greek’s nearly immortal Achilles. Hector is slain, which unfortunately does not end this particular war (a famous horse will be used instead). Not so with David & Goliath. This match up is winner take all. The Israelis vs the Philistines. Goliath, a giant of a man whom everyone fears, taunts Israel day and night. King Saul, the first king of Israel, ought to be brave enough in faith and boldness to slay the mocking pagan, but he too is afraid. Though Saul is anointed, trained, a head taller than most of his countrymen, and has the best weapons and best armor in all of Israel, he is unable to contest Goliath. From here we recall that it was David, a shepherd boy, who swiftly knocked down the giant with a small stone from his sling and then decapitated Goliath with the giant’s own sword. Winners, Israel!

      It’s God who gives the victory, and in this thrilling story, God provided a way through the personality of David. In one point of the story we read that “ Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.

      “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again (1 Samuel 17:38-39).

      Sometimes we try to be somebody for someone and it stunts our growth.

      If David would have wore Saul’s armor and used Saul’s weapons, of which he was wholly unaccustomed and had no prior training, it would have weakened and impaired his battle with Goliath. Though, notice that David did try on Saul’s instruments of warfare. They simply didn’t fit him in this particular instance. Heavenly wisdom, which is incredibly good for the soul and provides for tomorrow, requires seasons where we try on different suggestions from others. But like the tree in the empty lot with an old tire around its trunk, suggestions are often to be worn for a season and not for an entire lifetime. Armor isn’t meant to be used all the time. It’s only during battle, whether real or simulated, that it’s donned & not in times of rest and peace. We mature into our God ordained identities when we wisely seek suggestions tempered with prudence, faith, joy, hope, patience, and love. There is no doubt that we can sometimes try to be somebody for someone and that it can sometimes lead to growth . . . but when the suggestion worn no longer leads you to mature in Christ, don’t be afraid to take it off least it becomes an unnecessary weakness.

       Blessings,

      -Pastor Aaron