Pastor Jim Jackson
Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church
Before Legos, before computers and cell phone games, back in the old days, we kids were largely responsible for entertaining ourselves. We rolled hoops with sticks, swung in auto tires hung from trees, shot marbles in the sand, played jacks, skipped ropes and played hopscotch on sidewalks. Really the list is just too long to include everything we did in those primitive days of childhood entertainment. But, I haven’t mentioned slingshots. We made them ourselves, usually from forked sticks and rubber strips cut from old auto or bicycle tubes.
Manufactured ones were available at the dime store, but we mostly preferred our homemade models. With lots of practice shooting small stones or even marbles, sometimes playing for “keepsie,’ we gained commendable skill. My mother wouldn’t allow me to play for “keepsies,” she said it was gambling, so I had to keep secret my prized successes.
It’s amazing what wellaimed slingshots can do.
Who would have ever bet David could topple Goliath with a lowly slingshot?
Seeing David’s weapon, that giant mocked the kid with a toy.
After all, Goliath was more than a giant; he brought a sword, wore armor, and was accompanied by an armor bearer. He totally discounted that kid with a slingshot. Yet it wasn’t just a sling-shot, it was a well-aimed slingshot that created the resounding thunder when the giant hit the ground. Many people like me have ignored the arsenal of the “slingshots” available to us. They include the little skills we ignored too long and/or the opportunities we’ve discounted as unpromising. I’m not alone, there may be many of you out there who fail to recognize and gain skill with the little things God has made available to us. David didn’t keep his slingshot in his pocket; rather he practiced and practiced until he was able to protect his father’s sheep from bears and lions.
Practice meant his confidence grew alongside his skill.
Don’t discount the little assets with which you were born. With gratitude to God, recognize them; practice them until you are confident to face your giants. Who knows what fearful, mocking giants you may put down and what worthy victories you will cherish?