Giant Or Giant-Slayer?
Today, my mind went to the famous story of David and Goliath. Most people, even those not well versed in scripture, know the story of how David slayed Goliath with just a stone and a slingshot, but my mind zeroed in on the aspect of what makes a giant a giant and how does one become a giant-slayer.
Giant: A person of exceptional talent or qualities.
The thing about this particular dictionary definition is that it is so very vague and it could apply to both the giant and the giant-slayer. Talents and giftings are something that both would be in possession of.
So, what separates the giants from the giant-slayer?
What makes one a Goliath or a David?
Biblically, giants are the product of angels trading their divinity for humanity. The angels that fell with Lucifer chose their own fleshly desires over what God created them to be. In reading this story, it's easy to dehumanize their choices as though we are outside looking in, but, truth is, we are not that far removed from the ways of the original giants that walked the earth. Their physical attributes might be a bit different from our own, but it is their spiritual composition that reminds me that even today, we have come face to face with similar dilemmas. Through our decisions, we seem to continually break God's heart by choosing our own flesh over His love. It doesn't make sense to do so when God gives us so much more with so much value. It's almost like choosing to eat pig slop when we were born in royalty.
I believe that this is what separates us into the categories of giants and giant-slayers.
The choice.
The choice of whether we want instant gratification of temporary happiness or the promise of a future that has lasting love and joy, uninterrupted, is what truly determines our "giant-hood" or our "slayer-hood".
Modern-day giants look a whole lot like the money green enslaved CEO's and world influencers that seek money at the expense of the backs of those that either work for them or are in the way of the path they are carving straight down the middle of the road of progress. Giants are those that have traded their morals for fame. They've laid aside their inheritance of goodness and holiness for money and greater influence, but all this does is make me feel nervous about that influence. The size of influence isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when the person's heart at the center of that influence isn't following the spiritual compass of the Holy Spirit, then it is dangerous for all who follow such footsteps. These are the Goliaths of today. You can always spot them by the backing of their followers. They've won before. They've fought before. They've had victory before, but only personally, because they don't know how to make the communal effort to share the spoils. They seek after the things of the world like money and materialistic things like houses, cars, and debacherous relationships. They brag about their numbers as though having many is just as great as being powerful.
On the other side of things, giant-slayers are the ones that choose to use their God-given gifts and talents for the furthering of the kingdom. Their message is God-centered and filled with empathetic love for the people that God cares for. Modern-day giant-slayers have also slain lions and wolves, but they understand that it was never in their own power that they were triumphant, and slaying was always done in defense of those they are caring for. Giant-slayers are the intercessors, the humble Davids, the advocates of those who's voice has been silenced or ignored, the lowly shepherds and servants who live on the breath of God. They aren't easily corruptible, because there is this profound understanding that they can only survive if God allows them to. God formed and trained them and shaped their mindset in the wilderness and the barren place where not everyone could follow.
All of this brings to mind the fact that what makes someone a "David" has very little to do with how they fight now, and everything to do with what they've decided up until that point. It takes strength to be a "David" over being a "Goliath". It takes more than just DNA and an inheritance. It takes pushing aside selfish desires for the greater good of those connected to us.
I pray that you, my readers, decide to be a giant-slayer over being a giant. I promise you will get so much more out of it than you could possibly imagine.
