Thoughts on Tiger

Everyone has an opinion on Tiger woods and not only his public appearance today, but the ordeal he and his family have endured these last few months.

Here are the two scriptures I could not get out of my head as I watched.

Lamentations 3:21 "This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. Thru the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, for they are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness"

Psalm 130:3 "if you Oh Lord kept a record of our sins, who could stand? But there is forgiveness in you that we might learn to fear you"

Tiger by his own admission fell victim to the lie that sin tells everyone........"you deserve this, this will make you happy, this won't affect you negatively." You see it in sports stars, actors, and politicians who because of status, money, and fame are basically never told "no" and follow the voice of their desires.

That is why the bible exhorts ALL people to "live soberly, wisely, and righteously in this present age" (titus 2:12), because sin is indeed crouching at the door. While it can be easy to point the finger at a Tiger Woods, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God and apart from the gift of grace, all of us would still be slaves to sin.

As the Church, and believers in Jesus, we have a responsibility not cast stones, but to pray all the more for the kingdom of God to be here on earth as it is in heaven. This post is not intended to bash Buddhism, but the end of the suffering that Buddhist's are looking for is not found in keeping noble truths, or eight fold paths, but faith in Christ alone. I do pray that Tiger comes to the knowledge of the true freedom found only in Jesus Christ. Our responsibility is to demonstrate this truth by love, not judgement.

My prayer is obviously not just for famous people that we all know about, but every person that is still working for the "wages of sin that bring death," would come alive to the realization that the "gift of God is indeed eternal life" and cannot be earned by good works or trying harder. I commend tiger for realizing he is responsible for the mistakes he has made and is owning up to them, but he will never find lasting change and true freedom by "trying harder"

Psalm 32:1-2 (The Message)

1 Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start,
your slate's wiped clean.

2 Count yourself lucky—
God holds nothing against you
and you're holding nothing back from him

Micah 7:18-19 (New International Version)

18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.