Taking on Goliath!

I relived the story of David and Goliath today! 

I use a Bible reading plan that includes readings from the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. 

While it’s very popular, as followers of Jesus, to focus a lot of attention on the New Testament, I have a real love for many of the Old Testament stories. And today, I especially identified with David, the young shepherd boy, with 5 smooth stones in his pocket. 

For those not familiar with the story, as told in First Samuel, a foreign nation had a giant of a champion named Goliath. He would taunt the army of the Israelites, challenging them to send someone to fight him. If he won, the Israelites would have to become slaves of his country…or, vice versa. Well, the guy was so huge and so threatening that no one dared give it a try. 

When young David was bringing food to his brothers serving in the army, he heard the rant of this big dude, and stated that he would take on Goliath. David was a shepherd, accustomed to defending his sheep from wild animals. He may have been young, but he was obviously strong and had no fear. Instead of using the common weapon of the day, a sword, he used a sling. As a kid, I thought he was using something like our slingshots. But, some Bible commentators contend that David used a staff sling, which consisted of a leather sling attached to the end of a shepherd's staff. The staff acted like a portable catapult-like device. 

Whatever he used, one of those stones hit Goliath in the forehead and the giant was killed. 

Here’s the parallel that I see, in the business we’re in. 

This is a sample of what makes up Goliath in our story: 2.2 million people incarcerated in the United States, more than 30,000 men and women housed in Michigan’s 28 prisons, nearly 1,000 innocent people wrongly convicted in our country every year, etc. etc.! 

What could a tiny HFP “David” organization do in this major “Goliath” incarceration situation? 

Well, we’re simply throwing one little stone at a time. What started out as a one-person operation 23 years ago just kept on firing that slingshot, helping one imprisoned person at a time when he or she didn’t know where to turn. 

Our message to those behind bars: You matter! 

The word spread like wildfire: Someone cares!  Now, led by a formerly incarcerated client, HFP’s compassionate staff of 6, aided by a battery of volunteers, is responding to about a thousand calls a month, and has a client list totaling about one-third of the entire Michigan prison population! 

David’s response to Goliath’s taunts: “I come in the name of the Lord.” 

So do we!

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted

Aesop