How should we then live?

Thomas Paine said, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

Thomas Paine was writing about the events of the American Revolution. Unfortunately, today another revolution is taking place in America. These are very difficult times. How should we live? How should we respond? What should motivate us? Once again God’s Word has the answers. 1 Samuel chapter 17 is the account of David and Goliath. In 1 Samuel 17 there are four different motivations for living. We must choose carefully and wisely our motivation for living.

Some people are motivated by personal peace. Goliath the giant challenged the Israelite army every morning and evening for eighty days. Goliath thundered, “Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me” (verse 8). He said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together” (verse 10).

Saul was the tallest man in Israel (1 Samuel 9:2). He should have fought Goliath. Verse 11 reads, “When Saul and all Israel heard the words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” Saul lived for personal peace and refused to fight.

Some people are motivated by financial gain. King Saul tried to motivate his men to fight Goliath for money. Saul promised that “…the king will enrich the man who kills him (Goliath) with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel” (verse 25). The king promised great riches, no taxes and marriage into the royal family.

Some people are motivated by pleasure. When David arrived at the battle his older brother viciously accused him. Eliab asked David, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle” (verse 28). Eliab accused David of coming to see the battle. He accused David of living for pleasure.

David was a man after God’s own heart. David lived for the glory of God. The longest speech in this narrative is David’s words to the giant in verses 45 to 47. David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, Whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”

We must be motivated by the glory of God. We glorify God in two ways. First, we love Him with all of our hearts. We love God by loving and obeying His Word (Deuteronomy 6:5-6). Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). It is impossible to love God without loving His Word and obeying His commands. God is not looking for a Christian America. He is looking for Christians in America.

As we read the Bible we learn about Jesus Who died for us. The Bible teaches our need for a Savior. We are sinners. Jesus came and saw and conquered. He defeated sin, Satan and death through His death, burial and resurrection.

Second, we love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. A Samaritan loved his hated enemy, a Jew. The Samaritan provided medical care, care and financial aid to the beaten traveler. A neighbor is anyone we meet who is in need. We need to love others.

The gathering storm is increasing in intensity. Difficult days are coming. In the days ahead every person’s motivations will be revealed. Personal peace, financial gain and personal pleasure are not proper motivations. We must be motivated by the glory of God. We must live for the glory of God and face the giants.

Ethan Hansen is a pastor at Faith Bible Fellowship in Big Lake.