6 Steps to Killing a Lion in a Pit on a Snowy Day - Be Like Benaiah, the lion chaser.

So, who is Benaiah? Not much is said about Benaiah in the Bible. You can read about him in more detail in 2 Samuel 23: 20-23. Verse 20 of 2nd Samuel states “he went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion". No big deal, he just pursued a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed it. It is almost as if the author is telling the story as an afterthought. I found myself asking, “He did what? Why would he do that”? "How did he do that"? The author decided that we the reader did not need to know those details. That is ok though, cause someday, hopefully a long time from now, I am going to ask about this incident, and maybe ask Benaiah himself.

Here is what we do know: his father was a priest, he was heroic, he did many mighty things, he was the leader of King David’s body guard, one of King David’s mighty men, and eventually the leader of the nation’s army. Interestingly, it all seems to have started with killing a lion in a pit on a snowy day. Maybe there is a message here after all, maybe one of the keys to success is actually fighting lions (metaphorically speaking). So, I was inspired to come up with a plan for doing just that.

6 Steps to Killing a Lion in a Pit on a Snowy Day:

1.      Surround yourself with supportive and courageous people. Benaiah was a contemporary of King David and the leader of King David’s bodyguards, referred to as David’s Mighty Men. They were all doing courageous things, and 2nd Samuel talks about some of them, but only one killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day. If you remember from Sunday School, King David also killed a lion and, then a bear before he killed Goliath. Coincidence, or did Benaiah have a mentor that believed in him, and challenged him to do great things? Was Benaiah inspired by his boss to seek out challenges, even encouraged? I think the answer is a resounding yes. King David earned the respect of those who followed him and inspired them to great things.

2.     Look at problems as challenges. Why did he chase after a lion in the first place?  I doubt he made a practice out of chasing dangerous animals for sport. No, I think maybe there was a man-eating lion that was terrorizing an Israelite territory. Assuming I am correct, there would have been other options of course. They could have had a meeting about the lion. They could have put a team together to brainstorm, come up with options, maybe a lion task force, or maybe held a town hall meeting discussing how to protect yourselves from man eating lions. Maybe they did do all the above, but still, at the end of the day, Benaiah took action. He pursued the lion, and ended up jumping into a pit and killing it. There is no indication anyone else was racing him to be the first to get to the pit, nor any mention of anyone helping him at all. Had he failed we would not know about Benaiah, but since he took a chance some would call crazy, or stupid, or too risky, he is today one of the heroes in the most read book in all of history.

3.     Take on difficult challenges and build on successes. If you read 2 Samuel 20 you will see that prior to the lion incident, Benaiah had already killed two enemy warriors whom he fought at the same time. The warriors were described as fierce in their own right. The odds were 2:1 and neither of them were chumps. So, Benaiah probably had a Rocky-esque reputation but not legendary yet. Still, another time Benaiah killed an Egyptian giant using a spear he wrenched out of the giant’s own hands and killed him with his own spear. The point here is he did not just jump into the pit with the lion without previous training, experience and previous success. Success breeds success. Still, he had never fought a lion before either. David Goggins, former Navy Seal and author of the Book, Can’t Hurt Me, explains that all your successes should be recorded and reflected upon to give you courage when taking on other difficult, if not seemingly impossible tasks. He calls it “reaching into the cookie jar”. Make difficult challenges your specialty, volunteer for them, seek them out as opportunities, seeing a difficult task as an opportunity to have a great success. Develop a reputation for it.

4.     Do not be afraid to fail. Think about this. What would be more tragic at the end of your life, regrets because of things you tried but failed, or things you never got to experience because of never trying anything risky? Benaiah chased after opportunities, risky ones where failure in his situation meant death, but success was huge. Success not only landed him in the Bible, but he also achieved the highest position in his profession, that of the future general of the nation’s army. Had he not jumped into the pit and killed the lion, his name would be dead to history. Also, his exploits and future successes would have been unrealized, missed opportunities.

 5.     Jump into the pit. The Bible does not give any indication that Benaiah was afraid, but I am sure he was. Being afraid is natural in certain situations, but there is nothing to indicate that he hesitated either. Granted, there is not much said beyond the fact that he killed the lion, but it is my humble belief that he never doubted that he would lose. He was surrounded by courageous, ambitious people, he was led by a heroic leader, and he had already had successes against all odds. This was just another opportunity to set himself apart, cement his reputation, and further establish himself as a leader. So, he made the jump that would ultimately be heroic or idiotic depending on the outcome. Why is this important? As a leader you earn the respect of followers, leadership is not given with a title or promotion. It is earned in the trenches where success is not guaranteed.

6.      Do not wait until it stops snowing. Do not put off potential victories until everything is perfect in your life because nothing will every be perfect in your life. How many college degrees were never awarded because the time was never right to go back and finish? How many people have stayed at a job they hated because they got comfortable, or were afraid of change? How many missed opportunities that never got to see the light of day? Momentum is defined as the impetus gained by a moving object. Impetus? Yes, I know, the definition for impetus is the force of energy with which a body moves. You get it, start moving and that kick starts other things to move. Do not do anything and, you got it, nothing happens. 

I am fascinated by Benaiah, probably because he is so understated. He is overshadowed by King David, and by David’s son, Solomon. Benaiah lived to serve both kings and was instrumental in both of their lives. As I stumbled upon him and began to research what I could about him, I found myself inspired and wanting to learn more, but that is just the thing, there is not much to go on, making him one of the most mysterious characters in the Bible as well as one of the bravest. My final brief take away, atleast for myself is this:

live a life worth remembering, and worth others telling stories about.

Brett