How old was David when he slew Goliath?

Sincerely,
Faithful Slinger

Dear Faithful Slinger,

We have absolutely no idea. All we have to gauge David's age is that Saul referred to him as a "youth" (1 Sam 17:33) and that David said that he was old enough to slay a bear and a lion (1 Sam 17:34). Youth is a pretty generic term that could refer to anything from a baby to someone in their late teens, early twenties. From David's statements, he was probably somewhere in the range from fifteen to twenty... but as we said, we can't be sure.

     I am a fifty-two-year-old christian mother.  My thirty-four-year-old son is dying of ALS.  I am furious with God right now… not only that my son is dying, but how horribly devastating this disease is.  He is married with three children.  Please, without the usual christian rhetoric that we all preach, please explain to me WHY God who loves us lets horrible things happen – not only to my son, but others.  Are we just rats in a cage to Him for His amusement?  Is He loving, or is that just a myth?  Are He, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit one?  I think no.  I think Jesus represents love, and I think God represents power, control, wrath, and arrogance.  Please help me to understand.

Sincerely,
Angry Mother

Dear Angry Mother,

Life here on this planet is full of heartaches, and we here at AYP cannot imagine how devastated you are right now.  This world is full of all sorts of disease, pain, violence, and strife – but God didn’t cause those things, sin did.  All bad things are a result of sin.  When God made the world, He placed mankind in the Garden of Eden and gave us a joyously blissful existence in that paradise.  Who caused the pain?  We did.  It is sin that has brought all of the death, disease, decay, pain, suffering, troubles, and heartaches into our world.  We all, in varying degrees, are reaping the benefits of a world with sin in it.  Sickness is a consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden.  One of the curses of their sin was that we all must face our own mortality – life is finite.  Sickness, disease, and pain are a part of the human existence.  Sadly, this is true even for our children. When God gave us freewill, He gave us the right to cause problems for ourselves and others, and if He simply removed all the consequences for our actions, He would be removing our freedoms as well.

Sometimes bad things simply happen because they happen.  Job suffered greatly, and his children died, but it wasn’t his (or their) fault.  Job hadn’t done anything wrong, nor had his kids.  It all happened because Satan wanted to do evil (Job 1:6).  As long as we live in this world of sin, there will be troubles.  Sometimes, there isn’t anyone at fault… just time and chance wreaking havoc in a sinful world (Eccl 9:11).

Regardless of the reasons, your son’s illness is devastating to you – and rightfully so.  You have every right to be hurt, but don’t let that hurt cause you to turn your back on God who wants to save us all from this sinful world.  After all, God gave His Son’s life for us – He knows how painful this is for you and knows exactly how to give you comfort through this dark hour.

     Is it wrong to go to another church for Bible class if you are not getting anything out of your own Bible class?  The Bible class that I attend is very uplifting and encouraging.  I retain more and get a better understanding, and my husband enjoys it.

Sincerely,
Feeling Kinda Guilty

Dear Feeling Kinda Guilty,

There is nothing wrong with attending another congregation for Bible class as long as you are making sure to test what they are saying against the Bible (1 Jn 4:1) and making sure that wherever you attend is faithful to God's Word.  You might read our post, “Finding A Church”, on how to find a church using Bible principles.  That article might help you weigh the pros and cons of these two congregations.

     I had a preacher to explain to me that it is more important to pay your association dues than to help elderly people in need at the church.  Is this what tithing and offering is all about?  I looked in my Bible, but I can’t seem to locate what tithing and offering is and what GOD said it was for.  Help me, please.

Sincerely,
Writing The Check

Dear Writing The Check,

That preacher is wrong on so many accounts.  First of all, there are no such things as “association dues” in the Lord’s church.  In the New Testament, christians are supposed to give cheerfully and voluntarily (2 Cor 9:7).  There is no set amount that we are supposed to give; we are simply told to give as we have prospered every first day of the week (1 Cor 16:1-2).  Tithing (‘tithe’ means ‘ten percent’) is an Old Testament command that Jews had to follow, not a New Testament one for christians.  Jews were required to give ten percent, but christians are never given specifics.

As for saying that it is more important to pay your association dues than to help elderly people in need – that is the sort of thing Jesus said that a greedy, false teacher would say (Lk 20:47).

     What does God think about infertility?  I have a disease that has caused me to not be able to conceive a child on our own.  Is that in God’s plan for us, or is it the devil?  I do believe that He has a plan for everyone and He tests your faith, but if we've been trying for eight years, does that mean that I've failed?  What does God say about infertility treatment?  Is it a sin?

Sincerely,
Heart-Broken Wife

Dear Heart-Broken Wife,

Infertility is another consequence of Adam and Eve's sin.  When God created the universe, He made everything good (Gen 1:31).  The world didn’t have disease, thorns, suffering, and all the other problems we see today.  Originally, Adam and Eve lived in the perfect paradise of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:8).  It is only after Adam and Eve were cast from the Garden because of their sin that all the problems we see today began.

God can cause all things to work together for good for you and your husband (Rom 8:28), but He didn't cause the diseases that affect our lives.  The fact that you haven't conceived doesn't mean you have "failed" any sort of test; just like other people dealing with sicknesses aren't failures because of their illnesses, you aren't a failure because you can't conceive.  Some of the most faithful people dealt with the same infertility issues that you do.  Hannah and Sarah were both faithful women that wept many tears over the fact they couldn't have children.  The burden and pain you are carrying isn't an indicator that you are unfaithful – it just is what it is.

As far as infertility treatments, that is a big issue because modern technology allows us to do things that are both good and bad – some treatments are fine; others aren't.  Read our post "Apples Of Our Eyes" for what to consider before undergoing treatments.