Left-Hand Warriors ⚔️
“Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.” — Judges 20:16 (KJV)
Hey, Blog Friends!
Today I wanted to blog about something fun, thought-provoking, and creative.
So I asked the Lord, “What should I blog about today?”
And I heard…
Nothing. 😂
Not yet, anyway.
But I know it’s coming.
A title.
A subject.
A creative thought.
Something is going to thunder in my spirit!
So until then, I’m just going to keep writing—freestyle!
A lot of times when I sit down to blog, I don’t immediately have a title or even a subject. I simply start writing, and somewhere along the way, everything begins to come together.
Remember when we were in school and the teacher would say:
“Pull out your pencil and paper. Write three paragraphs. You have five minutes.”
WHAT?! 😂
Your brain would immediately start racing, trying to come up with something—anything—that made sense!
Those moments were intense for me, but there was also something rewarding about seeing what came out of it.
I guess that’s exactly what I’m doing right now.
And you know what?
I love blogging, y’all!
It’s exciting.
It’s thought-provoking.
It’s challenging.
Blogging pushes me outside of my comfort zone and causes me to do something I never imagined I could do.
And speaking of pencils…
Wait a minute.
I think I just found my blog. 😂
The Pencil in My Left Hand ✍🏾
When I was a young child in school, probably around five or six years old, my teachers believed I had a problem.
Why?
Because I was left-handed.
Apparently, they thought I needed to write with my right hand in order to be successful. Because I kept using my left hand, they treated my left-handedness as though something was wrong with me.
They tried to change it.
Every time I picked up a pencil or crayon 🖍️ with my left hand, they would take it away and put it into my right hand.
And it didn’t stop there.
They would hit my hand with a paddle—hard, might I say—and repeatedly try to make me use my right hand.
Day after day, I went through the same thing.
“Put the pencil in your right hand.”
I tried.
I really tried.
But I just couldn’t get it.
I cried.
I cried because I knew I had to go back to that particular classroom where they were trying to make me do something that simply didn’t feel natural to me.
At five or six years old, I couldn’t understand what was happening.
I didn’t understand why something that came so naturally to me was being treated like something that needed to be fixed.
But then…
One fine, miraculous day…
Juanita Carter stepped in.
My mother!
And when I tell you my mother did NOT play about me…
She did not! 😂
I don’t think she realized everything they had been doing to me until then.
But once she found out?
Everything stopped.
No more special classroom.
No more:
“Put that pencil in your right hand.”
No more hitting my hand.
No more taking the crayon out of my left hand.
They finally left me alone.
And I became one little happy left-handed camper! 😂
But Why Was Different Considered Wrong?
Looking back now, I have a question.
Why did being left-handed make someone think something was wrong with me?
Was it simply because most people were right-handed?
Did writing with my left hand look awkward?
Backward?
Different?
Maybe it wasn’t considered the norm.
But since when does different automatically mean defective?
Because here’s where this blog gets interesting.
I started looking at Scripture.
And look what I found!
WHAT?! Left-Handed Warriors?! ⚔️
Judges 20:16 tells us something fascinating about the tribe of Benjamin:
“Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.” — Judges 20:16 (KJV)
Hold on!
Seven hundred CHOSEN men?
Left-handed?!
And these weren’t just ordinary soldiers.
These men were so skilled that Scripture says they could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss!
Their difference didn’t disqualify them.
They were chosen.
Then I discovered another Benjamite named Ehud.
Judges 3:15 tells us that Ehud was left-handed, and God raised him up as a deliverer for Israel.
Because Ehud was left-handed, he carried his double-edged weapon on his right thigh. That unexpected placement played a part in how he approached King Eglon and carried out his mission.
Now THAT made me think.
Something that might have looked unusual to other people became useful in his assignment.
What others might consider an unusual way of being equipped can become the very thing God uses strategically.
Whew!
Now I started looking at my own life differently.
What If What They Tried to Change Was Something God Could Use?
What if something God placed in me for purpose was being attacked before I was old enough to even understand it?
I am left-handed.
But I’m also a writer.
A published author.
A blogger.
A woman who uses her hands every day in her profession.
And I’m a prayer warrior.
Think about that.
As a little girl, someone kept taking the pencil out of my left hand.
Today, I use my hands to write words that encourage people.
The hand they tried to correct became the hand I use to create.
Now THAT will preach! 😂🙌🏾
And to be quite honest…
I LOVE being left-handed!
Because you never know which direction I might roll in! 🤣🤣🤣
When I’m drawing blood, my technique might look a little awkward to somebody watching me.
But guess what?
I know how to get the job done! 😂
When I write by hand, I turn that paper sideways and write like it’s nobody’s business!
And God even blessed me with two sons who are left-handed.
Different doesn’t frighten me anymore.
I recognize the beauty in it.
Why Are We So Quick to Judge Different?
So now I have some questions for you.
Why do we judge someone simply because they seem different from us?
Why do we feel the need to change people because they do something differently?
Why do we assume someone doesn’t know what they’re doing because their thought process doesn’t look like ours?
Why must everyone solve the problem the same way?
Walk the same way?
Think the same way?
Work the same way?
Who decided that our way was the only right way?
Sometimes what we’re calling awkward is simply different.
And sometimes what we’re calling different is actually purposefully designed.
God didn’t create humanity using a cookie cutter.
Look around!
His creativity is everywhere.
God created people with:
Different physical features — height, build, facial features, hair, and countless other characteristics. (Psalm 139:13–14)
Different strengths and abilities — one person may be strong where another needs help. (Romans 12:6)
Different spiritual gifts — God distributes gifts for different purposes. (1 Corinthians 12:4–6)
Different personalities — some are bold, some quiet, some natural leaders, and some gifted supporters.
Different ways of thinking — we process information, solve problems, and approach situations differently.
Different talents and skills — teaching, writing, craftsmanship, music, leadership, caregiving, and much more. (Exodus 31:1–5)
Different roles and assignments — everyone isn’t called to perform the same function. (1 Corinthians 12:18–20)
Different life experiences — what we’ve walked through can shape how we’re able to encourage and help someone else. (2 Corinthians 1:3–4)
Different strengths in unexpected places — Ehud’s left-handedness is a wonderful example of something unusual becoming strategically useful. (Judges 3:15–21)
Different functions within one body — Scripture reminds us that a body needs different parts. The hand isn’t the eye, and the eye isn’t the foot, but each has a purpose. (1 Corinthians 12:14–27)
God didn’t create everybody the same because everybody doesn’t have the same assignment.
Imagine an army where everyone could do only one thing.
Imagine a body made entirely of hands.
Imagine a church where everybody had the exact same gift.
Imagine a world where everybody thought exactly alike.
Where would the creativity be?
Where would the innovation be?
Where would the different strengths come from?
Sometimes we spend so much time trying to make people fit in that we fail to recognize how God has equipped them to stand out.
💡 Lauretta’s Aha Moment
Different does not mean deficient.
Read that again.
DIFFERENT DOES NOT MEAN DEFICIENT.
Those Benjamite warriors were different.
Ehud was different.
And the little left-handed girl sitting in that classroom was different too.
People may look at what makes you different and call it awkward.
They may misunderstand it.
They may try to correct it.
They may even make you feel like something is wrong with you simply because you don’t operate like everybody else.
But before you change something about yourself just to make other people comfortable, ask:
“God, is there purpose in this difference?”
Because the thing somebody once criticized may become the very thing God uses.
The hand they tried to change may become the hand that writes the book.
The voice somebody tried to silence may become the voice that encourages thousands.
The mind that processes things differently may see the solution everybody else missed.
And the person who never quite fit the mold may discover…
God never called them to fit the mold in the first place.
So embrace the gifts God has placed within you.
Use what He gave you.
And the next time somebody looks at you and says,
“Why do you do it THAT way?”
Just smile and say:
“Because I’m one of God’s left-hand warriors.” ⚔️🤣🙌🏾
Maybe the thing that makes you different isn’t something you need to change. Maybe it’s something God intends to use.
Written by Lauretta Scott
iPublishub-Books — Publishing with Purpose & Faith
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