Then along comes a young man of Judah. He is an arrogant little pup. He thinks he can take on Goliath like a lion or a bear. Bears and lions are one thing. They typically don’t carry swords, don’t wear armor, and don’t have armies behind them. Saul rubs his chin and considers his options. This young man, David, is interesting. Saul wonders how serious David is. Can he really be so foolish? Saul calls for his armor bearer to put his own armor on David. Of course, it won’t fit, and the boy will look foolish, but at least he will live.
For several minutes, David marches around awkwardly in the armor. A few times he swings the sword and almost falls over. The more seasoned warriors restrain a giggle. David takes off the armor. Maybe that will silence the punk. Instead, David simply declares that he has a better idea. He will fight the giant without armor. Before Saul can say much, David is charging off to take on Goliath and into history.
Something in this exchange is unsettling to a leader who has gotten too comfortable with their position. Saul remembers when he was bold and foolish. David wins the battle and becomes a national hero. The praise that typically belonged to Saul is now going to David. In fact, the praises for David are far greater than the praises Saul had received. Saul asks, “Whose son is that?” Nobody seems to know, but they will soon find out.
David knows who he is at this stage, but this too is challenged when he gets too comfortable. That is when he had the whole affair with the wife of Uriah. Saul had forgotten that he was a warrior, just as David will.
A leader must know who they are and rest in that truth, regardless of what comes against them or what victories they experience.
A common mistake of rising leaders is looking for information on their identity from those around them. In our modern world, most people are too nice to tell you the truth. There was a TV show called American Idol (maybe it’s still on but I don’t watch much TV, so I wouldn’t know.) Every season started with showing the tryouts. Some of the people trying out likely were very nice people, but they could not sing. When I was in the first grade, my teacher ordered me to lip-sync when our class went to sing songs at the nursing home. My voice was that bad. Some of those trying out make me sound like I can sing like an angel. Yet they had no one that loved them enough to tell them the truth before they made a fool of themselves on international television.
There are, of course, others who might be jealous, or in some ways, are just bitter, who will insult and hate everything about you. What happens when you get your identity from them? You feel bad and insecure. If you keep listening to those voices you will become a leader like Saul. Ultimately, Saul tries to kill David even though David is winning Saul’s battles. Insecurity is a rough identity to live with on a daily basis.
There are many books to teach the skills of leadership. But the spiritual leader is one that is seeking to know who God says you are and what values that He expects you to live by. The details of that will look different for all of us. He cares more about character than about specific skills. He causes one to rise and another to follow. Moses was good for the establishment of the Jewish nation. His natural bent was organization and planning. Joshua was the right person for conquering. They each had their own character traits that were right for their season of life. God will do the same thing in your life.
