One of our pastors recently gave me an aquarium for my birthday. Because I knew nothing about pet fish, it remained empty in the corner of my office for several weeks. Eventually a fish-loving church member felt sorry for me and put six beautiful brightly colored fish in my empty tank.

My new officemates included two black and silver stripped Amazon cichlids, a couple of beautiful bright blue and yellow fish, and a small delicate orange fish with a black dot on his tail fin and a nasty disposition.

My staff and I enjoyed hours of entertainment watching that ornery orange fish attack his larger and more expensive tank mates.

All seemed well under the sea, until one by one my fish began to die. First to sink to the bottom were the blue and yellow guys. Then my silver and black stripped cichlids went belly up. To my surprise, the last man standing (or rather the last fish swimming) was the fearless orange monster with the black dot. This little black-dotted David had knocked off, not one, but five Goliaths in one week!

Thinking about my fighting fish reminded me of three simple leadership lessons.

LESSON #1: No matter how big our Goliath is, we can win. No matter what kind of giant we face -- financial, spiritual, relational, or personal -- we can win. My smallest fish killed all five of my larger fish one at a time. No matter how many giants we face, we can beat them one at a time. Here's David's secret to success: In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. (1 Sam. 18:14) He is with us too!

My good friend, Pastor Luther Mancao, a true fisher of men, promised to give me some tough fish that would be perfectly compatible with my little orange fish. He assured me there was no way "Orange Jaws" could hurt these new fish. These were the toughest fish money could buy.

I couldn't wait to see if my new fish could endure the attacks of the dreaded Orange Terminator. When I arrived at my office the next day, just as Luther promised, I saw my three new fish peacefully co-existing with the Underwater Undertaker. Upon closer examination I discovered the reason for the compatibility: all three of my new fish were PLASTIC!

LESSON #2: Relational pain is a fact of life. In order to avoid getting hurt, many people become "plastic." Rather than being plastic-man, we need to be peacemakers. If peacemaking fails, we must forgive, but being plastic is never an option.

Eventually my little orange fish with the black dot met his match. My friend who gave me the first victims of Agent Orange, promised to give me some real live (as in non-plastic) big, bad, hungry fish who would teach that little Orange Bully a lesson. He delivered two of the world's meanest water creatures (Amazon piranhas), and that was the end of the legend of Black Dot. 

LESSON #3: Like all bullies, my little orange fish finally met his match. Sowing and reaping is an unavoidable spiritual law. It works whether we like it or not. It works in every area of life, especially relationships. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man (or a fish) reaps what he sows.  (Gal. 6:7)

That's the end of my fish story, for now, though I'm sure I will learn more as I continue to go to the ant (fish), consider its ways, and be wise. (Prov. 6:6)