Be Smart, and Not Necessarily Fast

Ecclesiastes 9:11 I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.

Every day of our lives we have to make decisions which affect the rest of our lives. The choices we make determine how successful our future will be. That is why we must be smart in these choices.

Now, being smart has nothing to do with being fast. You can be fast and yet unwise. For example, when a fish sees a bit of food in the water around, it only wants to get it as fast as possible. But that bit of food might well turn out to be bait. The race is not for the swift. It is about making the best choice.

There is no need rushing to take a decision whose consequences you can’t tell. It is smarter to pause for a second to consider the pros and cons of that decision before jumping. Let’s consider this example.

There are two offers, one worth $1000 for one month and the other $200 a week for six months. The fast person will go for the $1000 because $200 a week makes 800 a month. But the smart person will go for the $200 a week because he will be making a total of $4800. There is no guarantee that you will the $1000 offer will continue.

Let us consider the decisions we make on a daily basis very well. Patience is a virtue. When opportunities come, we must look at the carefully before making the choices. The race is not for the swift. Watch out for the opportunity that is yours.

Fear Not

I Sam 17: 8 – 11 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us." Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other." On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

There is nothing more fearful that fear. When you are afraid, you cannot do what even a child can do. But if you are courageous, you will overcome even the fiercest of the enemies. In the story of David and Goliath, the tactics the enemy (Goliath) used was fear. His appearance alone was so fearful to scare the king away. All the men of Israel took to their heels when they heard Goliath speak.

It was so surprising that they could not see that Goliath, because of the sheer weight of his armory was more vulnerable than any person around. Goliath was just a moving mass of iron, as useless as the word. Yet his appearance frightened kings.

It took a teenage boy to see what others did not see. This teenage boy, David, used the simplest of weapons and old huge Goliath died like a miserable bird.

That is how your challenges are. You don’t need sophisticated weapons to overcome them. All you need is a simple strategy. Tackle the problem from where it is easiest to do. David hit Goliath on the forehead which was not covered. That was the easiest spot.

Have the faith and courage of David as you face the challenges. No matter how big they are, there is an easy spot. Focus on this spot and begin from there. You will overcome.