“If David could go against Goliath with a stone/ I could go at Nas and Jigga, both for the throne” — 50 Cent, High All The Time
How could the new guy on the block talk that way about legends? Not just legends, but legends in his own town. Legends whose success he witnessed close hand for years, before achieving his own.
Going at Jay-Z or Nas was no mean feat in 2003, when the two were still going at each other. Going at both? This kid had to be crazy. What’s his name? 50 Cent? OK.
One of two things is at play when someone punches above their weight class.
The person is actually not in their right mind.
They’re hoping to bait you into battle. They don’t fear the fight. They hope dearly it happens. They’ve got plans for you.
50 Cent was lurking behind Door No. 2, hoping someone would step to. By the end of the summer he was a household name. Whether you liked his songs or not, you heard them. You couldn’t hardly avoid them.
If I were to say “you can find me in the club,” your mind will finish the chorus, and your mouth might even sing it. Twenty years later. Not bad for a rookie.
50 Cent was not a success just because his music was good. Record shops sell absolute works of musical art by the discount bin. It wasn’t the steak that made him, it was the sizzle.
In 2000, 50 Cent had been shot nine times, and survived.
Tupac got great mileage out of surviving 5 shots, before another four shots in Vegas killed him.
50 Cent was shot as many times as Tupac…and lived!
He was supposed to be afraid of some New York rappers?
Having faced real fear, and actual life and death, the rap world was like paddy cake.
“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” — King Saul to David, 1 Samuel 17:33
One day in Israel, two peoples lived on two hills across a valley from each other: The Israelites, and the Philistines.
A giant from the Philistine camp, Goliath, standing nine feet tall, came down to the Israelite camp. He had an offer to Israel: Single combat, for slavery. Goliath would face a man among the Israelites.
If the Philistine won, Israel would serve the Philistines. If the Israelite won, the Philistines would serve them. It’s not clear that Goliath was empowered to negotiate this deal, or if it was a might-makes-right situation. Sometimes in life, what the nine-foot tall guy says, goes.
Besides, to the Philistines, there was no risk of losing.
If the sons of Israel inherited his brains, they were lacking in the brawn brother Esau was known for.
When the Israelites were scouting their new home, scouts reported back that giants, the Amalekites, lived there. Israel feared size. Goliath was about to show them why they should.
Goliath had became louder and bolder in his provocations. He left no room for coexistence.
“When the Israelites saw this man, they ran from him in great fear.” — 1 Samuel 17:24
King Saul had promised “great wealth,” and his daughter’s hand in marriage, to the man who killed him.
David saw a chance to change his family tree forever. As often happens, he had to fight past his family to do so. David’s older brother Eliab called David “conceited” and “wicked.” He thought David only came to watch the fight, not participate in it. That’s why Eliab himself was there: To watch.
David didn’t have to fight challengers for the right to battle Goliath. He had only to overcome the reluctance of his king.
King Saul didn’t want to sacrifice his people’s freedom on the thin shoulders of a boy. He had every reason to question whether David was ready, and did.
But David had faced real fear before, and lived, and said so.
He had rescued one of his father’s sheep from the mouth of a lion, and another from a bear. Oh my!
David had fought the fierce beasts of the field. With five smooth stones, he felt he could beat any man.
“Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear,” David told King Saul. “This uncircumsized Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
“The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine,” David added.
At the time David faced the lion and the bear, he probably wished he were doing something else. Perhaps living in the city as his own man, not out in fields tending to his father’s flock.
“Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.” — Proverbs 22:29
What David didn’t know, and what we do not know in our own lifes, is what he was being prepared for, in fighting the lion and the bear.
He didn’t imagine that “someday” would indeed arrive, when his unique set of skills would be just what the king needed.
For Joseph in Egypt, it was the ability to interpret dreams that elevated him. For David, it was the ability to kill, lest his people be killed. Just as he fought wild animals, lest his sheep be eaten.
With that said, David had the king’s blessing to take on the fight of his life.
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” — 1 Samuel 17:37
By day, David was a shepherd. By night, he was respected in all the land, and on the fast track to royalty. What changed David’s life was being “skilled in his work” at the exact moment it mattered.
What do you do at work, or in your private life, that seems like an annoyance today, but will someday be a valuable skill? Is there a practice or an activity you can view with fresh eyes, and a new attitude, knowing its true value? What Goliath is life preparing you for?
It can be hard to see this in our own lives. That’s why we read Bible stories, about people who overcome struggles, against all odds.
It’s so much easier to “zoom out” when it involves other people.