Monday Memo 376: Trash Talking

Greetings from Kenya!  It's great to be back after a one-year absence.  Sorry I didn't get the Memo out yesterday, but I was in transit.  While I was flying over, however, I was reflecting on what a good warrior King David was, in spite of his trash talking.  Do you know what trash talking is?  It's a sports term used when someone talks or even brags about what he (or she) is going to do to the opposition.  How does this fit with your PurposeQuest?  You know by now that to find out you will have to read on.

TRASH TALKING

When David went out to face Goliath, he didn't sound very "Christian."  In fact, he sounded more like a trash-talking braggart than a humble servant of God. Let's look at what David said to Goliath:

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 hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, 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 17:45-47).

David did not say what he might do; he didn't talk about what could happen if God helped him.  No, he said in no uncertain terms that he was going to defeat Goliath, cut off his head and parade it around for all to see.  There was nothing tentative about David's speech; he was certain of what he could do and he said so. It wasn't braggadocios; it was a statement of fact.

FAITH TALKING

Did David engage in trash talking or faith talking?  While some may think it's the former, I think it was the latter.  He was so convinced that God was with him that he spoke strongly and acted accordingly.  He did that, however, because David thought correctly.  David's victory began in his mind, when he told Saul:

But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:34-37). 

You can be sure that your victories and defeats begin in your mind just like in the case of David.  If your thoughts are rightly aligned with God's purpose for you, you will talk and act with great power.  If you are tentative, cautious and apprehensive, you will act the same way.  So what's it to be?  Do you want to be nice and polite or do you want to say what you are going to do in the will and purpose of God?  I hope you go the route that David went, for your Goliaths will not be defeated by half-way measures, but by right thinking expressed in positive speech that leads to victorious action.  Have a great week!

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PX 2: This coming weekend, December 6-8, my friends will be hosting The Pacific Institute's youth training program called PX2.  This is by far the finest training program anywhere that I have found and it will help train our young people in how to think, act and talk like David did in the story above.  If you want to enroll your child (ages 15-19) in this program, please write and let me know, and we will contact you with the information. 

FINANCIAL HELP:  You may contribute to my work here in Africa using PayPal through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA  15221.  Thank you. 

MEET WITH ME WHILE I AM HERE: If you would like to meet with me to have a PurposeQuest session while I am in Nairobi in December, you can also send me an email to let me know you are interested.  I have one Sunday free while I am there, so if you would like me to speak in your church on December 7, please let me know.

FAITH FILES eBOOK:  As I announced a few weeks ago, my latest book, The Faith Files, is now available as an ebook that you can download.  What's more, the service allows you to pay in Canadian dollars, US dollars, UK pounds, Australian dollars and, get this, Indian rupees!  Just go to the ebook website, enter your payment information and download the book.  You can then print it or have it on your computer for your devotional pleasure.