Flight and Fight May Go Together

November 10, 1983. Whenever we face difficult situations in life, there are usually two things we can do about it. One is to confront it, take it on, rise to the challenge and see what we can do about it.

The other is to run from it, retreat, or give up by realizing or believing the situation is more than we can handle. In the language of the counseling profession we have two options: fight or flight.

All too often, however, we think of these as either/or situations. Either we do one or the other. But is it possible that we may actually do both?

When the topic of confronting difficult situations arises, we often think of the biblical story of David and Goliath—a young man with stones facing a giant possessing a sword and shield. Whenever this story is told we get the impression that after the challenge, David immediately decided to fight Goliath. He supposedly just had to find five smooth stones before he went out and slew the champion of the Philistine army.

But there is some indication that at first, David was hesitant to fight Goliath. In fact, a careful reading of the story in 1^st Samuel chapter 17 indicates that initially David not only was hesitant, but actually ran from the challenge. In essence, there was flight before fight.

The first few verses of 1^st Samuel chapter 17 relate how Israel and the Philistines were at war.  Three of Jesse’s eight sons had joined King Saul’s army in battle. Jesse, as you will remember, asked his youngest son, David, to take some food to the three older brothers. David did so and went right down into the trenches of war to greet his brothers and give it to them.

While David was talking to his brothers at the front line of battle, Goliath appeared and shouted out the same challenge for combat that he had had on the previous 40 days. Now note verse 24:

“And all the men in Israel (apparently including David) when they saw the man, fled from him and were sore afraid.”

Nowhere do we read that David alone remained behind to fight Goliath at that time. The account simply states, “And all the men of Israel . . . fled.” Even though David had previously fought a bear and a lion while defending his father’s sheep, he apparently was not yet sure about fighting the giant, Goliath.

We should also note that when David later decided to fight the champion of the Philistine army he was persuaded at first to use Saul’s helmet, sword, and amour – a sensible and practical thing to do.

The battle gear, however, was too cumbersome, so David discarded it and chose to fight with his familiar weapons—a sling and stones. His victory in the subsequent confrontation is well known.

What if David did lack the courage to fight at first, was “sore afraid” and even fled with the other men of Israel? Even if he did, it was a normal human tendency. Fear of the unknown or an apparent overwhelming situation can do that to a person.

The most courageous and notable thing about David, however, is that after that apparent flight he later decided to return and fight. That, along with his plans and strategy, is the most impressive part of the story.

There may also be difficult situations in life from which we initially flee, lacking the courage to confront the problem. These would include dealing with a wayward or uncooperative child, living with an indifferent spouse, confronting a disintegrating marriage, or even facing a potential divorce.

Yet if we have given up or are in the process of running away from a seemingly impossible situation, perhaps we should return again to face the challenge.

Even after the flight, it may still be appropriate to return and fight for something worthwhile.