The Importance of a First Impression
1 Samuel 17:45
"Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied."
They often say that your first impression is a lasting impression. Sadly, we make many judgments off the first impression of a person. However, how you present yourself will make a lasting impression on how people will judge you.
When I read the story of David and Goliath, I find that both men presented themselves in two very different ways. There is no doubt in my mind why God used David the way that He did. Throughout the life of David you will see that he carried himself in a proper way. However, when I look at how David and Goliath presented themselves, I see that many people must choose one of these ways to make a good lasting impression. Let me show you three ways that these men presented themselves as they came to each other.
First, Goliath came with the physical, but David came with the spiritual. Goliath came flaunting his sword, spear and shield, whereas David came lifting up the name of the LORD. Christian, you can choose to live your life with the physical, or you can choose to live your life in the spiritual. There are many Christians who keep their eyes upon the physical aspects of life, and they will only do so much for Christ. However, there are others who choose to use the spiritual and accomplish great things for God. The sword and spear is no match for prayer and the power of God. The sword and spear are no match for God's presence with someone. Too many times we focus upon the physical in our church work, when we need to get back to the spiritual if we want God to do something great. Yes, you need the physical to get things done, but the physical without the spiritual will cause you to utterly fail in the Christian life.
Second, Goliath came by sight, but David came by faith. Goliath came looking at his own stature, whereas David came looking at the magnitude of a great God and what He could do. Goliath came flaunting his past victories, whereas David came by faith and trusted that God would help him to overcome Goliath. Christian, you will never be able to serve God if you must live by sight. The Christian life is not a life of sight, but it is a life of faith. Hebrews 11:6 teaches us that you will never please God without faith. The success of your Christian life will be determined by whether you live by sight or faith. Yes, there is an unknown in faith. However, if you are a Christian who needs to live by sight, then place your sight on the past works of God as you step out by faith. When your faith is weak, then place your eyes on the sight of God's past works to give you the confidence you need when you step out by faith.
Last, Goliath came arrogantly, but David came humbly. Goliath came telling David what he would do to him, whereas David came humbled that God would use him to fight His battles. One of the determining factors of how much God will use you is how much credit you give God. If you become arrogant in the Christian life, then your usefulness to God will be very little. However, if you will stay humbled that a great God would use you, then God will have the capacity to do great works through you.
Let me ask you, how do you present yourself in the work of the LORD? Don't follow the world's model of serving God, for the only thing the world's model will give you is failure and death. Look at how David presented himself and follow that model, for his model is the model that God can use to do great works through you.