Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
- 1 Samuel 17:41-47
 
You’ve got to love some ancient trash-talk. It’s violent and cruel and harsh, but reveals something about the hearts of each of our main characters.
 
Goliath wants victory. He wants respect: Don’t come at me with sticks! He’s entirely focused on winning for the sake of winning. The beneficiaries of Goliath’s victory – in Goliath’s view – will be the birds and wild animals who will pick the bones clean after the battle. Selfishness and chaos.
 
But David is concerned about something else.
 
The Lord’s reputation matters to David. He wants to counter this defiance to the Lord’s armies. He wants to demonstrate the saving power that belongs to the Lord. He wants to show that the Lord holds the giants in his hands.
 
David’s theology isn’t reserved for his time in church or his experience of worship. He doesn’t keep his thoughts about God locked up away from his day-to-day life. His confidence in the Lord is so central to his identity that it comes spilling out of him even when trash-talking.
 
What would happen if God gave you this same gift, if you found yourself increasingly focused on him and concerned about him? How might that change the way you interact with the giants in your life?