Despite what your first grade Bible teacher taught you, the most famous underdog story of all time was not won fairly. David did not overcome the odds of beating the seven-foot giant Goliath by sheer strength or mere divine intervention. He cheated. Now that statement may offend some people. You think I'm trying to take away the moral of the story- that you can do anything if you just believe and put your mind to it. And you would be right; that's exactly what I'm trying to do. One of the major problems in the millennial generation is that we believe we can do anything if we just believe passionately enough and try hard enough. That is simply not how the real world works. In real life, the person who believes they can do it with all their might will not always come out on top. What if two people believe they can get the same job? One of them will end up disappointed. He will probably be distraught because his parents told him that if he just believed in himself and worked hard, that he would be rewarded with everything he wants, even if he isn't the most talented or qualified! That's what David and Goliath taught us right? Maybe not.

Goliath stood at the front of his army- sword, shield, and spear in hand. He called out to the Israelite army to send someone to come and fight him. In those days, the rules of engagement were to march down and announce your weapon to your opponent. The other army then had a chance to either change their warrior or his weapon of choice to adapt. David never announced he was using a sling, nor gave Goliath a chance to react; He called out to Goliath that the lord was on his side, then flung his rock at Goliath, killing him.

Now, you may be thinking, "So what? You're saying Goliath couldn't see that David was using a sling? It's a slingshot! He couldn't have been more than 10 feet away." Well, In Biblical times a sling's projectile, calculating ballistics, is roughly equal to a .45 caliber handgun today, and ancient manuscripts have described slingers as being deadly accurate from up to 200 yards away. It is generally believed that Goliath most likely suffered from acromegaly, a disease where growth does not stop at the normal age and results in almost complete blindness. It is possible that Goliath hardly saw David, probably just a rough outline of a small man. He was not adequately prepared to face his enemy. David did not defeat the giant by sheer strength or God's intervention. He had a plan and executed it perfectly. He did not announce his weapon; he sat safely out of Goliath's range, slung his rock, and killed the giant. He cheated. He saw his opportunity to take advantage of a situation and took it.

I am not trying to decrease the power of God in this story. I am merely pointing out that it may have been less direct divine intervention, and more a wise, godly man taking advantage of a situation which he saw present itself, and making a perfect shot. Sorry to break this to all those Sunday School teachers out there, but that's how the world works. People lie, steal, and cheat their way to the top. You can not just stick your head in the sand, pray, and hope Mommy can talk your way into that new job you want. You have to work hard, study, and maybe take some unrighteous paths to get to where you want to be. I'm not condoning cheating or deceiving in any way. It is still wrong. I am merely pointing out that when it comes to real-world situations, you will probably have to discard your morals or fall behind.

Bill Gates, Dick Chaney, and Halliburton, Mark McGwire, Enron, Richard Nixon, the MIT Blackjack team, Atlanta school teachers, Lance Armstrong, the New England Patriots, Barry Bonds, David- all examples of people and corporations who cheated their way to the top and got caught. Imagine the millions of people who have cheated their ways to positions and honors and haven't been caught, or their malpractice is so minor that it has not warranted any disciplinary action.

Let's face it if you are of equal skill set with someone else in your field, but they have cheated just a tad to get a slight edge over you, they will most likely get the job. That's how American business works: get to the top by any means necessary. If you can make the deal, you get the job; we don't want to know how you did it- we just want our money.

So, what now? Do we go around cheating everyone we can find so that we can make our way in life? God would never want us to be at a disadvantage right? Well, no. We should still stand firm in our moral beliefs and honor the Lord by being righteous in all areas of our life. God never promised a fair life, quite the opposite: He says in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all who live a Godly life will suffer persecution.

We may not get the best job, or be the most honored here on earth, because the earth is full of lying, cheating, and deceiving people who, if we are honest with ourselves, tend to succeed at what they do more than they fail. But, we can still put our hope in the fact that God will give us our reward when we reach his kingdom. So, let us all face the reality that cheaters always win, but the righteous are honored in the end.