Toss the Armor; Pick up the Stone

Adeolu Morawo

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Key points

1. Analyze what has proven successful for you so far; comprehend the reasons behind their effectiveness.

2. Even in a new and challenging context, do not thoughtlessly toss aside what has worked for you and take wholesale what has worked for others

3. The wise counsel of experienced people can be invaluable, but they benefit you the most when you can skillfully synthesize them, extract the useful components, and modify them to fit your unique context. 

4. To effectively use wise counsel, you must deliberately and over time build your ability to evaluate them spiritually and cognitively.

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David and Goliath:

In his bestselling book, 'David and Goliath,' the seasoned writer Malcolm C. Gladwell turned the narrative of this ancient story on its head by underscoring how Goliath's perceived advantages actually constituted vulnerabilities. David's strategic use of a projectile put the lumbering giant, burdened by poor eyesight and heavy armor, at a significant disadvantage.

A well-meaning but poorly fitting advice:

Saul had good intentions when he advised David not to confront Goliath, encouraging him to cower in fear like everyone else. Saul did not want to see David get hurt. Even when David insisted, Saul meant well in suggesting he wear armor. The irony is not lost that a king too afraid to face a giant would offer his armor as the winning strategy. Aside from the legitimacy problem, Saul's armor poorly fit David and the nimble strategy needed to defeat Goliath.

Many people toss what has worked for them to us, expecting us to toss what has worked for us aside.

If David were to employ his unique sling-and-stone approach, donning ill-fitting and heavy armor that belonged to someone else would nullify the advantage conferred by his projectile. He would put himself at a significant disadvantage by fighting a novel enemy with novel tools on the enemy's terms.

One needs to be flexible and nimble to effectively use a sling and stone. Moreover, David had always used his tools in shepherd clothing, not in armor. For optimal results, the circumstances had to be similar. Indeed, David mentally reconfigured Goliath into a familiar enemy (the bear and the lion) and reframed the battlefield into the wilderness setting he was familiar with.

The place of wise counsel:

Seeking the counsel of well-meaning people with experience and expertise is crucial. The Bible instructs us to find safety in a multitude of counsel, but as David demonstrated, advice must be considered in the context of our unique abilities, life experiences, and the challenge at hand.

With a multitude of counsel, contradictions are likely. Therefore, I posit that safety comes not from incorporating advice wholesale but from skillfully synthesizing it, extracting what is useful, and modifying it to fit your unique context. Sometimes, this involves rejecting advice that takes you away from your zone of strength.

How to effectively use wise counsel:

Determining how to skillfully synthesize, extract what is useful, and discard what is not is not always easy. However, two things, among others, help: discernment by the Spirit of God; and spending deliberate time getting to know and develop your unique abilities, principles, values, and purpose.

Your effectiveness in producing results from advice is not solely dependent on how solid the advice is but also on how solid you are as a person. Put another way, your output is not entirely dependent on your input; your processing system plays a significant role.