Deacon Jude Tam Tran

WE CAN CRUSH YOU ANYTIME

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
“Do not despise these small beginnings.” Zechariah 4:10

There is a famous story told about the early days of Amazon and Jeff Bezos.

Now, historians may debate the exact details, because every successful company eventually collects stories the way old fishermen collect fish sizes — each version becomes slightly larger and more dramatic over time.

But the lesson behind the story is powerful.

The story goes something like this:

Back in the 1990s, Jeff Bezos was still just a skinny guy with a laugh that sounded like a car engine refusing to start.

He had left a stable Wall Street job to pursue a crazy idea called “selling books on the internet.”

At that time, this sounded approximately as intelligent as opening a scuba-diving school in the desert.

Remember, in the 1990s people barely trusted the internet enough to load weather forecasts. Asking them to type credit card numbers online felt like volunteering for identity theft.

Yet Bezos believed something huge was coming.

So, one day, Bezos, his wife MacKenzie, and a close friend were discussing the business idea inside a café connected to a large bookstore — often said to be Barnes & Noble or associated with it.

Imagine the scene.

Around them were endless shelves of books, thousands of customers, giant physical inventory, experienced management, national distribution, and billions in retail dominance.

And somewhere in the corner sat three people discussing how a tiny online bookstore might someday compete with giants.

That already sounds hilarious.

It is like three guys eating noodles in a garage discussing how they might someday compete with NASA.

At some point, according to the story, someone connected to the bookstore overheard the conversation and warned Bezos:

“You know, if we decide to sell books online too, we can crush you anytime.”

Honestly?

From a business perspective, that statement was completely reasonable.

Barnes & Noble was enormous. Amazon at the time was basically a website held together by hope, caffeine, and what was probably an illegal amount of extension cords.

The bookstore giant had:

more money,
more inventory,
more employees,
more experience,
more customers,
more suppliers,
more infrastructure.

Amazon had:
folding tables,
uncertainty,
and Jeff Bezos laughing like a malfunctioning lawnmower.

Naturally, the giant felt untouchable.

And that is where history becomes interesting.

Because large companies often believe size guarantees survival.

But history repeatedly proves otherwise.

The dinosaurs were huge too.

Meanwhile, small adaptable creatures survived and now yell at us from trees every morning.

The problem with success is that it can quietly turn confidence into arrogance.

Once companies dominate an industry long enough, they stop asking:
“What if the future changes?”

Instead they ask:
“How dare the future change without our permission?”

That is dangerous.

Very dangerous.

The giant bookstore looked at the internet and thought:
“We already sell books. We can do online anytime.”

But Bezos did not think of Amazon as a bookstore.

He thought of it as a technology company obsessed with customers.

That difference changed the world.

The giant focused on protecting the present.
The startup focused on building the future.

And the future usually wins eventually.

Ironically, many established companies fail not because they are weak, but because they are successful.

Success creates comfort.
Comfort creates blindness.
Blindness creates decline.

The Bible actually warns about this principle repeatedly.

One verse says:
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  Proverbs 16:18

That applies not only to individuals, but also to companies, leaders, and entire civilizations.

The bookstore giant was not foolish. They simply underestimated how fast the world could change.

And to be fair, most humans do this constantly.

We assume tomorrow will behave politely like yesterday.

Then suddenly:

taxis become apps,
hotels become platforms,
phones become computers,
and people watch cat videos professionally for a living.

Nobody saw that coming.
Well… maybe Bezos did.

The deeper lesson, however, is not really about Amazon.

It is about courage.

Because starting Amazon was unbelievably risky.

Imagine explaining the idea to your relatives back then:

“So, you quit your stable finance career to sell books through the computer?”
“Yes.”
“The computer connected to the noisy dial-up internet?”
“Yes.”
“The internet that disconnects every time someone uses the phone?”
“Yes.”
“And customers will trust this?”
“…hopefully.”

Most big dreams sound ridiculous in the beginning.

That is why so many people never pursue them.

Modern society loves successful innovation but hates uncertain beginnings.

People applaud courage after it works.

Before it works, they call you irresponsible.

Noah looked crazy before the rain.
David looked ridiculous before Goliath fell.
Moses looked unqualified before the Red Sea opened.

Faith often appears irrational until history catches up.

Another Bible verse says:
“Do not despise these small beginnings.”  Zechariah 4:10

That verse perfectly fits the early Amazon story.

A small conversation in a café.
A strange idea.
A tiny startup.
A giant competitor laughing nearby.

And yet inside small beginnings are hidden futures nobody can fully see.

That truth matters deeply today.

Many people abandon their dreams too early because someone stronger, richer, or more established tells them:

“We can crush you anytime.”

Sometimes that voice comes from competitors.
Sometimes from family.
Sometimes from society.
And sometimes from your own fear.

But history repeatedly shows that giants often underestimate people who are willing to adapt, learn, persist, and believe.

Because the future does not always belong to the biggest.

Often it belongs to the most willing to change.

And perhaps the funniest part of all?

Somewhere in history, a giant bookstore warned Amazon that online bookselling was nothing special.

Today many people buy books about business success… from Amazon.

That is the kind of irony that makes heaven’s angels laugh.

So, if life ever places you at a tiny table surrounded by giants, do not panic.

The size of your beginning does not determine the size of your future.

And just because someone says,

“We can crush you anytime,”
does not mean God cannot still build something extraordinary through you.