The Advantage of Disadvantages

We know a Korean pastor’s family in Daejeon for about a year now.  We have also prayed with them when they were going through a real tough time in their ministry.  When the dust settled down and they were able to breathe a sigh of relief after the situation was under control, they presented a book to us as a sign of appreciation for standing with them in prayer.  The book was “David and Goliath”, very biblical title by Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times bestselling author.  I am not sure as how much our friends read in English but my guess is that they really thought this was a good biblical book to present to a pastor.  As I unwrapped my gift, the thing that caught my attention was not the main title but the subtitle; “Underdogs, Misfits, And The Art Of Battling Giants”.  I was excited to devour it right away.

Malcolm Gladwell has made a fortune for himself by writing books that focus on the power of human psychology and creativity.  It is not clear if Gladwell really believes in the God of David (claims he came to faith while writing David and Goliath), but he surely believes in the power of human imagination to succeed in this life.  In David and Goliath, Gladwell picks up many amazing stories of “underdogs” or “Davids” who went on to beat their opponents 10 times more favorite.  He calls it the advantage of disadvantages in which an underdog, a David, realizes the limits placed upon by the might of the opponent refuses to play by the same rules that a Goliath plays with.  But the opponent knows nothing about the rules by which the underdog approaches the battle; before too long the victory slips out of the mighty into the hands of the weak.  According to Gladwell, only 66 times out of 100, the Goliath wins giving 34 chances for the underdog to win.  Gladwell does not factor in the supernatural element in the struggle between David and Goliath.

As a Christian who believes in the power of God’s grace in turning my weakness into His strength; I felt the book was retelling my very own story.  How many times I have seen the divine hand guide me through to the opposite side of defeat when my opponents had started their victory lap.  How many times I was written off by my pastors, teachers, professors, mentors, students, and just good friends who saw nothing worth hanging around with me.  My own family wrote me off from an early age.  First time my parents disowned me, I was nine days old.  The second time they did it, I was 17.  When I was 19, the first church that I was baptized in excommunicated me for standing on what I believed.  The first full time job I had as an elementary school teacher, I was fired from it for preaching the gospel to the students and teachers.  The first seminary I applied for and was given sure assurance for a seat in the upcoming semester; my place was given to a “more” promising candidate than I because we both happened to be recommended by the same pastor.  The first full time pastoral position I had under an American missionary went so bad that I was absolutely demonized throughout my country; as missionaries were considered to be some kind of demi-gods not to be questioned for their motives or methods.  I could go on and on in outlining those amazing moments when I saw the divine hands coming underneath my sinking ship to let me sail again over the raging sea. 

Ministering in Korea for the last several years has added so many new twists and turns in this amazing journey of being an underdog.  Yesterday I had an appointment with an important person who heads a particular organization.  Having heard many flowery things about me from some of my best friends that knew me, he was taken in for a shock when he actually met me in person.  Few minutes into our meeting and without apology, he confessed “I cannot understand how you, a ‘Nepali’ be pastoring an international church in English?  I think you should be serving among the Nepali laborers who come to Korea for manual work.”  He could not take in the fact that a “Nepali” can be qualified to pastor an international church.  After sometime, again he blurted, “So, the English church gave you more money than the Nepali church and you chose to be their pastor?”  Sitting in front of a man nearly 15 years younger to my age with just about 7 years full time ministry experience to my 27, I was amusing myself in seeing him get more confused by my answers.  Since my wife was waiting in the parking lot, I really wanted the meeting to be over soon but he kind of dragged it to last for more than two hours.  Eventually in goodbye, he confessed that I was some kind of unique Nepali he had ever met; whatever that may be in his mind.  As I got in the car, “how did it go?” was my wife’s question who can always tell how it went by the look in my face.  I replied, “one more chance to humble myself; I could have allowed my flesh to get on the way but the Lord helped me to be grounded and allow myself to be ridiculed because I am a Nepali, not a Korean nor a white man”.  It has been my wife’s habit to pray for me so that I won’t answer the questioner in the same spirit in which I was questioned.  In Korea, your color and nationality matters because respect is allocated according to these elements.  It is an oxymoron to say that I am from Nepal and I pastor an International church in English!  But I always have the last laugh whenever such situations arise.

Even though Gladwell does not bring in the God factor, he defines David and Goliath’s case as the advantage of disadvantages.  When you are judged way below the expectation bar; like David was in the eyes of Goliath, you have enough room to maneuver your way up with ease.  However, just because one is an underdog does not guarantee victory; in fact according to Gladwell, 66% of the time the underdog will lose and the victory comes only to those who dare to go against the conventional way of doing and thinking.  What Gladwell forgets in his story of David and Goliath is that there could have been many individuals in Saul’s army who could use the slingshot probably better than David.  It is not the slingshot that made the difference; it was David’s unswerving trust in God.  This is not the only time we see this character trait in David; throughout his life, David displays utter dependence in God, whether in palace or in the cave. 

Therefore, any underdog that knows the God of David and humbles himself/herself; acknowledges his/her limitations and allows the grace of God to work in life; victory will always be within his/her reach.  The secret is; never be offended when people mistreat you, misunderstand you, underestimate you, ridicule you, and take advantage of you.  In fact these things are so essential for the underdog to live with utter dependence in God’s providence.  And the God who gave victory to David over Goliath also tells in choosing David “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1Sam. 16:7).  Because God looks at the heart, an underdog who depends on God’s providence without malice or greed becomes the person of God’s own heart!