Have you ever encountered people who are well-intentioned? They are the ones who give advice or suggestions on how you should handle certain situations such as your health, your career, your love life, etc. They are the ones who believe that if it works for them, it works for everybody.

In 1 Samuel 17: 32-40, David visits King Saul and tells him that he wants to fight Goliath. The king is reluctant to allow David to fight because he believes that the young shepherd is no match for a highly trained giant. David convinces Saul by sharing with him the incidents where he protected his father’s sheep from lions and bears. Saul then dresses David with his own armor and equipment. David tries to walk around in the armor, but he’s uncomfortable. He tells Saul that the armor isn’t going to work for him, removes the armor and approaches Goliath with just his staff, five smooth stones and a sling. David was able to defeat Goliath with one smooth stone, causing the Philistines to retreat.

I believe that Saul meant well when he dressed David in his armor. Most people today understand what armor is and what its purpose is. Its purpose is to protect a soldier, a warrior or a knight from anything that can cause bodily harm. In our human understanding, a person is nuts if they chose to go to war without some form of protection. It’s funny how David was honest enough to tell King Saul that the armor wasn’t working for him, and Saul just let him fight without that protection. Saul could’ve said, “Oh, grow up!” or “Well, I had to get use to it, why can’t you?”, or it could’ve been an argument between the two. He even could’ve told his servants to create custom-made armor for David. However, for some unknown reason, Saul allows David to fight like David.

Saul’s armor can represent cookie-cutter Christianity, legalism and a “my way or the highway” mentality. In life, there will be people, whether they have good intentions or not, who will have us to put on things that are not meant for us to wear. Sometimes, they will make us feel inadequate and this can lead to comparison, which is considered unwise in 2 Corinthians 10:12. There are people who feel that because they had to look a certain way or act a certain way to get ahead, their friends and family would have to follow pursuit. However, we must be reminded that God created us in His image and likeness. He didn’t create us to look the same, talk the same, act the same or have the same experiences. Better yet, if you read the Bible, you’ll discover that God used people with different personalities, experiences, occupations, backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses to accomplish his purposes.

KENYA SMITH is an intern at The Tidewater News. Contact her at 562-3187 or kenya.smith@tidewaternews.com.