It is very important to choose the battles that you fight wisely so that you do not waste your energy fighting nonsensical battles.
We can see that when David was sent to take food for his brothers and he found Goliath taunting the Israelite army, his oldest brother Eliab became angry and asked him the following questions:
1. "Why did you come here?" (I Samuel 17:28) and yet he knew David had been sent to bring them food.
2. "With whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness?" (I Samuel 17:28) This question was probably framed to tell the men who David was talking, who were most likely soldiers of King Saul's army like his brother, that he was a nobody, a shepherd who took care of a few sheep in the middle of nowhere.
3. "I know your pride and arrogance" (I Samuel 17:28) This statement was probably also meant to show those men that he had a bad character.
David's brother Eliab did not have any justification for speaking to David like this because first of all David was not talking to him.
Secondly, David was simply asking those men the reward that would be given to the person who killed Goliath. (I Samuel 17:26)
David responded to his brother very wisely for all he said was, "Is there not a cause?" and then he turned away from him. (I Samuel 17:29-30)
This is a very important point because it teaches us that we have to discern the battles we should fight and the battles we should ignore.
This is because if David had spent time and energy answering his brother and trying to prove that he was not proud or arrogant, chances are his brother could have had him removed from the battlefield and thus David would have missed his chance to prove himself and fight Goliath.
So David prudently turned away and focused his attention on "THE CAUSE".
Know that even if you have killed lions and bears, you do not have to kill every Eliab who provokes you.
Assess your Eliab for who they really are and if they are a mere provocative distraction in the grand scheme of your life, turn your back to them and focus on your Goliath.
Therefore whenever you find yourself in the middle of an altercation, always assess it to see if it is worth your time and energy to fight it or whether you should ignore it.
Understand that the devil sometimes sends "Eliab Battles" to provoke you and distract you from your "Goliath Battles" that usher you into your destiny.
Therefore do not fall for these devices of the devil of provocation and distraction.
Notice also that when King Saul told David that "You are not able to fight Goliath since you are a youth and he has been a fighter from his youth." (I Samuel 17:33) David did not turn away from the King as he had turned away from Eliab.
David knew where to expend his energy and he spent time telling the king of his ability to kill lions and bears and his confidence that the God who helped him kill those animals would also help him kill Goliath. (I Samuel 17:34-37)
Therefore pray for the spirit of discernment so that you can choose your battles wisely and not turn away from the battles that you should fight, even if you are just fighting them verbally.
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