Talking Smack: Goliath

Words are a funny thing. They have power. More power then we like to admit they have. They speak life. They speak death. We use them to communicate and to miscommunicate. We use them to make points and disprove opinions. Sometimes they are spoken to make us feel big and others to feel small.

^{1 Samuel 17:23-24} As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.

Goliath talked a lot of smack. Not only was his stature intimidating but he used his words to mock and discourage people. He did it for forty days, making sure his words were making the Israelites feel small and fearful. When David finally got frustrated enough and went out to face him, Goliath called him a stick, a toy for a dog to play with.

There are times in our lives we are given the opportunity to be right or to nurture relationships. There are often moments when we can make others feel small and insignificant because of our responses and gestures. Is there someone in your life that could be using an encouraging word instead of your insults? Is there someone who needs you to love them more than they need you to be right? While most of us root for David and know how the story ends, sometimes we don't consider that we aren't David.

Sometimes we are the Goliath in someone's life. We are the one's making someone feel small. We are the one's that taunt and create fear. Consider for a moment people in your life. Do you picture someone that you disagree with most of the time, can you see their face when they are hearing your judging words?

I pray for all of us today, and for every person we have ever been "better" than. I pray for forgiveness and I pray for a renewed spirit in those relationships. I pray we learn to discern the purpose of our words. I pray we learn to hold our tongues when our words are not speaking Truth. I pray there may never come a time that we are face to face with a David, someone so hurt by our words that they are determined to destroy us.