The Power of Contempt

When we experience the disdain of another person, especially if that person is more powerful than we are, we experience shame. That is the typical response unless we have learned to overcome this power trap. An incredible example is found in David as he went to fight the giant, Goliath, how he did not allow this trap to affect him.

Picture the scene where the armies are arranged facing each other with a valley between them. Goliath came out from the Philistine lines twice daily and shouted his challenge for someone to fight him. He had done this for some forty days. At last, there was a response from the Israelite side—a teenager was walking out toward the Philistine.

The giant moved closer to whatever was coming toward him, but what he saw infuriated him. Goliath was intimidating because of his over 9 feet height, his armor, and his weapons, but also because of his threatening language and his rage.

The giant finally arrived at the point where he could see his opponent. The sight of David filled him with rage and contempt, “He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him” (1 Sam 17:42). What he saw filled him with contempt. This was nothing more than a boy. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” The giant cursed David by his gods (1 Sam 17:34). Goliath was confident of victory and declared he would feed David to the wild animals.

To be held in contempt of another is one of the most challenging things we can endure. That disdain is only more deadly if the person is more powerful than us. A woman remembers playing basketball on a school team and even scoring the winning points. All her dad had to say was, “You run like a duck.” She never forgot those words and developed a severe weight problem from that moment on. It took her years to regain control of her weight and get over the shame.

A young man always had to dry dishes when he was young. He would ask if he could wash them. His dad would say you would do a lousy job, so no, you can dry, and that’s it. Later, this young man bought his dad a recliner for his birthday, which was a sacrifice, but his dad only complained that he didn’t like it. Later, when the young man moved out, he told his son to take it. The young man played the piano, but in his head, he could hear his father telling him that he would never play the piano as well as he could.

David overcame that contempt by knowing his identity came from God. He fought Goliath in the name of the Lord and not his own strength. This is the secret of freeing ourselves from the disdain of others more powerful than us.