Your Worldview Matters
“It is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves,
for the battle is the Lord’s.”
1 Samuel 17:47 (NIV)
Our women’s Bible study, Matters of the Heart, focused this week on the historical narrative recorded in 1 Samuel 17. My first memory of hearing the exciting David versus Goliath story is as a child in Mrs. Maynard's 4-year-old Sunday School class at Hunter Street Baptist Church. I still remember sitting in a circle of little wooden chairs with Mrs. Maynard and her big flannel graph board in the center of our circle. David and Goliath is the beloved story of a young boy slaying a big bad giant. It was pretty heady stuff for a bunch of four-year-olds and is still one of the most popular stories recorded in the Bible. But 1 Samuel 17 isn't really about an underdog and giant battle. It's not even a story about how great David the Warrior is. It is a story about the greatness of God and how knowing the living God should make a difference in both our world and our lives.
Read 1 Samuel 17 and you will find that verses 1-25 are completely godless. There’s no mention of God at all in those verses. Israel’s army is impressed and distressed for forty days and nights as they are challenged twice daily to fight in a winner take all, one-on-one fight with a nine foot Philistine giant named Goliath. Everyone, including King Saul, sees impossible odds against the giant who has an impressive size, impressive weapons, and impressive armor. But everything changes when young David arrives on the scene and asks, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26)
Where others see impossible, David sees only sees an uncircumcised Philistine and the living God.
David’s piercing “Who is this?” question reflects his worldview. This is the first time David’s words are recorded in scripture, but they reveal his entirely different world and life view. David knows God as:
The living God whose Name is powerful
The One who saves His people
The One greater than any weapon
The One who sovereignly owns and claims this battle
By the end of the chapter, God sees David as the one who:
Upholds God’s honor
Understands God’s ways
Undertakes God’s battles
David’s worldview- one that recognizes and acknowledges God as the one true and living God- not only made a difference for David, it changed everything for Israel and the Philistines.
You may be wondering what a story recorded 3000 years ago has to do with life in the 21st century, but make no mistake. Your worldview matters. It’s the lens through which you see all of life and death.
Our church’s Every Member Commitment event, an annual convocation that highlights many of our church’s ministries, was held last Sunday. Two ministry videos showcased our church’s stewardship of its members’ tithes and offerings. Our 10-year-old granddaughter Julia was asked by the Children’s Ministry to share an incident that occurred last spring in her 4th grade public school classroom.
Julia’s teacher instructed her students to write a letter to Mother Earth in celebration of Earth Day.
Julia and her best friend looked at each other and asked, “Can we do that?” Both young girls are good students committed to completing assignments, but both are also Christians. Quickly Julia and her friend asked their teacher if they could go to the restroom. Once there, the girls texted Lucy Kate’s Mom for advice on how to handle their dilemma. The wise Mom told them to respectfully ask their teacher for permission to write their Earth Day letter to God. Julia wrote, “I don’t believe in Mother Earth. I believe in the one true God, who is Maker of heaven and earth.”
Julia ended her testimony by saying,” Briarwood taught me to always put God before other things. Thank you, Briarwood!”
Julia’s worldview mattered.
One of the leading credit card companies has a successful advertising campaign based on asking a memorable question: “What’s in your wallet?” As Christians, all of us need to ask ourselves, “What’s in my worldview?” Do I see an impossible situation with impressive giants and unbeatable weapons, or do I see the living God whose Name, honor, and glory are at stake? What lens am I using to evaluate our society’s current cancel culture, identity crisis, and de-valuation of life? What lens am I using to determine how I spend my time, talent, and treasure?
Our worldview matters, not just in the classroom or boardroom, but also in the church pew and voting booth.
What’s in your worldview?