I Sam. 17:29, 40, 46-47

“Worthy” is defined:

• good and deserving respect, praise or attention
• having enough good qualities to be considered important, useful etc.

David would become known as a mighty warrior in his lifetime, but at this point in scripture he is yet to be recognized as such.  Even as the armies of Israel hideout from a Philistine hero by the name of Goliath, the young David proves against all odds that he was worth of war.

As we see a champion emerge from what many would consider obscurity, it begs the question, what made David “worth of war?”  I believe that the scriptures listed give insight to what qualities  allowed David to be capable of making war.

The first quality is revealed to us in I Sam. 17:29.  David is recorded as saying, “Is there not a cause.”  The future king was stirred in his heart.  I dare to say that the greatest of contenders are those which have their “heart” in the fight.  
The next quality is revealed to us in I Sam. 17:40.  The Bible states that David took his sling that he had with him.  No fighter worth his salt, goes into the fray unarmed.
Last, and most importantly, is what we see in I Sam. 17:46-47.  While being stirred in your emotions and equipped in your weaponry are vital, the greatest quality that David had this day was his faith in God.  While exchanging words with his opponent, the young shepherd states, “Today the Lord shall deliver you into my hands!”  James lets us know that faith without works is dead.  Faith brings action into our lives, it cause us to act.  It does not matter how much your heart is burdened, how great your weapons, if you do not have faith then we will NEVER step out on the “battlefield” and confront the enemy.

My prayer today is as we live out our lives doing our very best to “fight the good fight,” that we possess the qualities needed to be considered Worthy of War!

My cause impassions me
My weapon enables me
My faith engages me

“The choice is not between violence and nonviolence, but between nonviolence and nonexistence.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

Paul's writing in 2 Timothy 1:5 (KJV) states:
5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

When Paul used "unfeigned" to describe the faith of Timothy, he used the Greek word Anypokritos (an-oo-pok-ree-toos).

In Greek if you have a word and you need a word that means of the opposite of that word, you can add the Greek letters alpha or alpha nu in front of as a prefix.  The root word here is "hypokritos" which is where we get our English word for hypocrite.  In Paul’s world, hypocrite didn’t mean what we use it as today.  It meant an actor in a theater.  If you have ever given attention, then you would notice that many theaters have the two masks.  One smiling and one frowning.  It purpose is to represent the ability of the actor/actress to play multiply roles just by putting on another masks.  So what you saw portrayed on stage was not necessarily the true depiction of the real person.

So when Paul used the Greek "Anypokritos" or un - hypocritical, he was meaning to describe Timothy's faith as a faith that was without any masks.  Real faith does not put on a show or masquerade as something it is not!