"Heretics are to be converted by an example of humility and other virtues far more readily than by any external display or verbal battles. So let us arm ourselves with devout prayers and set off, showing signs of genuine humility and go barefoot to combat Goliath"

True conversion grows from the attraction of holiness rather than the pressure of debate. Hearts change when they meet patience, mercy, and self-forgetful love; arguments, displays, and cleverness rarely pierce the armor of pride. The counsel is pastoral psychology as much as theology: people resist being cornered, but they soften before integrity and gentleness. A life shaped by humility becomes its own apologetic, a living answer that requires no triumphal closing statement.

Prayer and humility are presented not as decorative virtues but as weapons, spiritual means fit to spiritual ends. “Go barefoot” evokes poverty, penance, and vulnerability. It suggests walking without insulation, feeling the sharpness of the road others tread. Such exposure signals trust: the fighter lays down worldly armor and depends on grace. The David-and-Goliath image reframes mission as a battle won by reliance rather than prowess; the sling is prayer, the stones are patience, chastity, courage, and charity.

The warning against “external display” and “verbal battles” also critiques the temptation to perform: to prove, to dominate, to win. The call is to authenticity, “signs of genuine humility”, where acts match interior disposition. Without genuineness, even pious gestures become counterproductive; hypocrisy hardens rather than heals. Humility here is not self-contempt but self-placement before God and neighbor: the freedom to serve, listen, learn, and repent.

Practically, the exhortation directs missionaries, pastors, and ordinary believers alike: begin with prayer, purify motives, seek the lowest place, and let daily fidelity preach. Listen before instructing, suffer with those who suffer, and let service establish credibility. Do not despise reasoned discourse, but refuse to rely on it as the primary engine of conversion. The community is summoned, “let us”, to a shared witness whose quiet coherence outlasts polemics. Victory over error comes not by crushing an opponent but by loving a person into the light, one humble step, barefoot, at a time.