Praying for the World May 4, 2026 Issue

Self-aggrandizing evil: As pretentious and delusive as Goliath

The supremacy of God, good, exposes the fallacy of evil and ensures its downfall.

Name Withheld

The Bible story of David and Goliath (see I Samuel 17) resonates today. Like Goliath boasting haughtily to the armies of Israel, evil in its various presentations appears to aggrandize itself and can seem invincible. It creates the delusion that a material thought system or kingdom can be godlike—omnipotent. But David’s story illustrates that looking beneath the surface appearance of an evil person or persons to uncover the false claim that evil can even exist, much less act, is most helpful in overcoming it—in proving that it has no reality or power in God’s infinitude and omnipotence.

Goliath disdained the youthful David and held himself up as superior to all warriors, presenting a facade of godlike omnipotence. Both his army and the Israelites believed Goliath was capable of meting out death—that superior size, military might, intimidation, oppression, and deception could establish a worldly kingdom of authority, forcing others into subservience. The Israelites were cowed by their belief that this erroneous thought system was real and powerful and could overwhelm “the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.”

By his fearless trust in God, David exposed the weakness of anything that defies God, good.