Tale of a Tiger

I grieve over the current woes of Tiger Woods. Serious character issues will ALWAYS unravel the well-scripted life of the most disciplined among us. I have long admired Tiger's tremendous work ethic at the game of golf and his reverence for the game and those great players who have preceeded him. That work ethic coupled with his obvious God-given skills have taken him to the top of his profession. Would we Christians have the same reverence for the One we follow and the same work ethic for the mission to which He commissions us (Matthew 28:19-20).

But not even the most disciplined among us can corral the sin nature that inhabits and corrupts each of us. Tiger is no exception. Look under the finely polished veneer of any human life and you will find the same thing: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." It's certainly true of me. And it's true of Tiger too. We are not brothers on the golf course--he is far above me. But in the course of life, all of us --he, I, and you--are brothers and sisters. We all share the same moral and spiritual genes. We are without hope and without God in the world, if all we have is our own self-discipline. Buddha (whom Tiger supposedly follows) can teach all the meditative and disciplined habits he wants, but such things will always lead us to the same place--spiritual emptiness and moral bankruptcy. I hope Tiger has come to the end of his own very strong, but still futile, rope.

I am saddened that Tiger and Elin his wife have turned first to a renegotiation of their pre-nuptial agreement. That depicts a rather pessimistic view of their future. The upside, however, is that they may be recognizing their inability or even lack of desire to change their personal and marital behavior. If so, that recognition, if coupled with true humility, is the prelude to finding the answer to character change and growth--Jesus Christ.

The Bible makes this promise to those who receive God's Christmas gift of His Son. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (MSG) Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!
That's my suggestion to Tiger, Elin, all of us. Look at Jesus. He alone can do away with the old life that unravels scripted lives and destroys marriages and families. He alone can give us the new life that heals and grows that which we hold most dear. And He even can make Tiger a better golfer than he can possibly be on his own. Yes, look at it--look at the new and better life you can have by uniting your life with Jesus Christ.