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NO SHAM FIGHT!
An article by the Lord Bannside (Dr Ian Paisley) and first published by the Bannside Library
Sham fights are a cultural tradition the world over. Re-enactments bring history to life for locals and tourists alike. They entertain us even though we know the outcome! In Ulster, the annual clash between King William and King James is firmly established in our calendar every 13th of July and proves over and over again its worth as a happy family day out.
Of course, there are a great many other shams in life. These don’t have an entertainment value and require discernment in our judgement of them. The word sham refers to something false that is purported to be genuine. It has the quality of deceitfulness about it. Anything that is not what it pretends to be ought to ring alarm bells!
One day, a young shepherd boy heard those alarm bells ringing when he went on an errand for his father. He had been tasked to take refreshment to his brothers who were preparing for battle. The father was elderly, too old for battle himself, but his paternal heart was anxious to learn how his sons were. His concern was practical too, and so he sent provisions for them, and indeed also for their commander.
The young man arrived on the scene. He located his brothers in the camp. They were preparing to once more take up their battle positions for the day. The smell of war was in the air, the tension of men who knew they might not be alive at the close of the day. The young man must have been both awestruck and excited.
His name was David. He would become King David.
That day he heard the challenge of Goliath of Gath, repeated as it was for the fortieth time to his brothers and their fellow soldiers.
No one in the Israelite camp was prepared to take on the Philistine. He was too big and too experienced. There was a fine reward on offer for the man who would take up the challenge. The King, Saul, would bestow great riches and give the hand of his daughter in marriage to whoever would take down Goliath. Even such a reward seemed to mock the ranks of soldiers. The bells of a sham fight rang loud!
The young David had none of the cynicism of unbelief. He knew his skills. They may be simple shepherding skills, but they were proven against bears and lions. Why would he not take on this taunting warrior who was day by day diminishing the resolve of his kinsmen? And he said so! Of course he was laughed at. His oldest brother voiced his anger at him, cross, probably embarrassed by him, feeling his own cowardice underscored by a younger brother! But the King was told of David’s willingness while all others held back, and he sent for him.
You know the story. Saul decided to let him take up the challenge. He kitted him out in full body armour, but David couldn’t have swatted a fly with all the restriction and weight enforced upon him. He discarded it and stuck with what he knew – his staff and his sling, and chose for himself five smooth aerodynamic pebbles. The rest is history!
In the end, Goliath lost his head because David kept his.
Life tosses us many a challenge, and often they seem insurmountable.
But we have tools for the job. We are in this country blessed with an array of helpers. We have homes and nourishment. We have education. We have healthcare. We have freedom of speech. We have freedom of worship. We have family and friends and work. When difficult times come to our door, there are very few of us who have no one to turn to.
But our greatest challenge comes when we stand alone at the end of our life and face the Goliath of death. For this encounter, there is only one David. Our works, our talents, our wealth, our health, our family and our friends cannot fight this giant on our behalf. One King, of the line of David, took on this impostor. He climbed Calvary’s Hill carrying His own cross. He faced and defeated death. In so doing. He made a covering for us. Not the sham covering of good works or baptism or penance. Rather, the covering of His own righteousness!
When the young David returned to King Saul after defeating Goliath, the king asked him, “Whose son are you, young man?” “I am the son of your servant, Jesse of Bethlehem”, was his reply. He was the son of the man who cared enough for his family at war to send him with food for their needs. God the Father cared enough for humankind in his battle with sin that He sent His Son to make provision for us. That provision won the war! It opened the door to eternal life! Don’t settle for a sham when the real thing is there for the taking.
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.