Work Principles: Part 2

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Monday, March 12, 2007 - Work Principles From King David – Part 2

Have you ever tried to be like someone else? It never works, does it? Here is principle #6:

Principle #6: Don’t try to be someone else; be who God has created you to be.

When David volunteered to take on Goliath, the giant, Saul reluctantly agreed to let him do it–only because no one else was willing to face this nine-foot killing machine. Then Saul tried to tell David how to do it. "Here," he said, "put on my armor, take my sword." And David tried, but he immediately recognized that he couldn't use Saul's armor. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So, he took them off, found his five smooth stones, got his slingshot in his hand, and faced Goliath.

You know the story: He takes aim at Goliath's head, hits him in the right place, and knocks him out. Then he cuts of Goliath's head with his own sword, and claims victory.

How did David defeat Goliath? By using his own slingshot. That's what he was good at; that's how he had defeated the lion and the bear; that's the gift God had given him and taught him how to use. If he had tried to defeat Goliath in Saul's armor, with a sword, he would never have won, and David was wise to realize that.

If you’ve ever tried to do your job the way someone else does it, you’ve probably had some hard lessons to learn. I remember as a college student trying so hard to change my personality and be like another girl at school who I thought was the ideal Christian girl. Surely God would want me to be like her, I reasoned, and I tried to copy her ways, her smile, her personality. It was a disaster, and it took me many more years to learn that I didn’t have to be like anyone else in order to be who God wants me to be.

Use your own slingshot. It may not be the conventional way to do things; others may tell you it won't work. But if that's how God is leading you, don't be intimidated by what others think. Go with what God has given you.

Notice that David got creative. Everybody else thought that in order to defeat Goliath, a man would have to put on armor and defeat him in a face-to-face sword fight. But David said, "There's other ways to skin a cat." He got "outside the box," as we say, and pushed the envelope, and by faith faced a giant and killed him.

So, if you’ve been trying to kill your giants in someone else’s armor, let me encourage you to use your own slingshot and don’t try to be anyone else.