One nugget of Christian rhetoric I have always had the toughest time understanding is “giving everything to God.”  What was so frustrating about this is that “giving everything to God” sounds like the right thing to do, and here I don’t even know the implications of the statement!  My visceral response is to pack up all my belongings and give them to the church.  Or perhaps to quit my job and say I had given it to God.  The Peace Corps seems to fit the bill for that too, I should enlist (or whatever it is they call it).

No.  That isn’t all there is to it.  Luckily, Jesus shed some light on what it is to “give everything to God.”  In the gospel of Luke, Jesus shared his perspective on giving God complete ownership of one’s self:

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,

Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,

nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is

within you” (Luke 17:20-21).

In Greek, the word Jesus used for ‘kingdom’ was ‘basilea,’ which is better directly translated into ‘kingship.’  I am not one for selecting diction across the bibles deriving spectrum of languages, but I think that there is something to be said about God’s ‘kingship.’  When we hold the phrase “giving everything to God” up to the light of what Jesus said we find that Jesus defined the above virtue as “giving God leadership of our kingdom.”  Since Jesus established that no physical place on earth would ever truly be under God’s kingship, He must be saying that God has different real estate in mind, and it’s within us.

Jesus was saying God should have reign over our spiritual identities; that we should give God the very fibers of our inner-person.  Our “everything” is just that, the very core of us to which all things that are exclusive to us burst forth.  God wants to be located at the epicenter of that which is our “kingdom.”

Tragically enough, how many of us have completely disregarded the wellbeing of our kingdom (our core selves) in the name of unselfishness?  Some people live their lives almost on-call to others in such a way that they omit the possibility of needing to be served at that point in life.  Some people stay involved in unhealthy relationships (romantic and otherwise) out of some sense of “extending grace” when all their doing is hyper-extending their compassion.  Ultimately, they lose more then they could’ve given in the first place.  While the process of learning to say “yes” and “more” takes considerable practice, the gift of “no” requires more temperance and spiritual-awareness.  A fear of saying “no” seems to communicate our own lack of trust that God’s work is independent of our own.  It’s as if we fear that if we don’t shoulder a certain workload, God won’t shoulder His.  However, God’s best work is done in the spirits of His followers even though His followers regularly disregard their spiritual identity.

The problem here isn’t the fear of most believers to give God their spiritual identity; the problem is that most believers are giving God a faulty one.  To fully articulate this I must shoot the fear of sounding cynical to the wind and say that if I stripped the most spiritual people I know of their lofty ideas and disciplines (the things that make them look spiritual), they would have no idea who they are and how they would go about finding that out.  They have no problem giving God their kingdom; they actually prefer it because doing so leaves no responsibility for them to even set foot within it’s walls.  Essentially, if they left God in control of their inner person, they never have to do the ‘work’ necessary to understand it.

This is a cop-out, and this isn’t what God wants.

Naturally, God isn’t interested in the polar opposite as well, where we take full ownership of our spiritual development and wait for it to be complete before we allow God to move in.  That simply will never happen.  As almost everything in life points to balance, so does the grotesquely misunderstood act of “giving everything to God.”

Say we did have this balance where we allow God to be the pivot in the spiritual understanding of our Self, while at the same time never shying away from seeking to understand who we are.  This may seem like a very simple middle ground and that this article is stating the blatantly obvious.  However, if we all truly understood this balance then why do we assume responsibility for other people’s relationships?  As men, we think we ‘know’ when relationships are ‘broken’ and mandate repair to which only we can provide.  If we understand this balance, why do we always catch ourselves saying ‘yes’ to too much?  Better too busy than too lazy right?  Wrong.  We don’t want to stop moving.  We hate to be still, and know that He is God.  We want to ‘fix’ things in our world so we don’t have to deal with them being broken.  We are scared children running around trying to make things fit into our single-dimensioned understanding of ‘right.’  We would rather be the caulk that holds the world together than accept things as they are and trust that God’s work will be completed in time.

If we don’t respond to structural flaws of the kingdoms we give to God, these issues will never be dealt with.  And how can we hear what God is trying to tell us when we won’t shut up?  “Quiet time” is what most Christians call it, but I call it “Ben time.”  Basically, I would sit down and calm their mind for a period of time. By setting aside this time to spend in my own skin, God always shows me something involving my spirit.  I bring my journal, and work through things with God that way. Sometimes I do something I love, but do it alone.  Naturally, this isn’t a formula for spiritual success; it’s just more of a suggestion.  Ultimately, one must pursue a deeper understanding of the spirit God works in, and everyone will do this differently.  The ultimate pursuit is the ability to take scenic walks through the kingdoms God gave to us, which we give Him the reins to.

Last night I got back from Mexico.

I went with a bud of mine named Josh. Josh is on staff at the same church I work at and oversees the middle school ministry. Josh will be bringing a group of soon-to-be-ninth-graders there this summer. Yikes. Please pray for him.

We went there and scoped things out. Since I have spent some time in Latin America, I also went with to make sure Josh was not left to be feasted on by the Chupacabra. I also had the opportunity to visit some missionaries that our church supports and to see the ministry they are a part of. It is called Esperanza Viva, it is located in Puebla, Mexico and it is quite amazing.

Puebla is about a two hour bus ride away from Mexico City and is surrounded by mountains, there is even an active volcano right close by… the journey there is amazing as long as you can avoid whatever movie is contaminating the environment. We were treated to “peaceful warrior” … Kind of like the karate kid meets gymnastics.. which starred Nick Nolte as Mr. Miagi.

While Puebla is very beautiful… there is one underlying piece of it that complicates things… nobody drinks the water in Puebla. Not even the Chupacabra. Seriously… nobody can drink the water in Puebla. It is far too contaminated. It is not a matter of adjusting to be able to drink the water… Nobody drinks the water in Puebla.

In Puebla, bottled water is more expensive than Coca cola. When this is the case you can start to see how people are changed because of their surroundings. Given enough Coke and enough time your teeth will rot out of your mouth.

Did you know that you can use a Coke soaked cloth in order to loosen a rusty bolt?

It’s also good for cleaning toilets.

So.. we’ve got a bunch of people pouring a tasty and wretched concoction into their mouths instead of something pure, clean, and rejuvenating. This troubles me.

I know I don’t drink enough water. I have access to it, and maybe after writing this, I’ll start drinking it more often.. but I am free to partake in something that is a basic human need, and although I have access to it, I don’t really care about it, or think about it often, or drink it with the thanks that I should. I can get it for free and it is all around me, so why should I care?

When we remember what it is like to be without water… we begin to appreciate it.

After we have been out in the sun and our mouths are dried out… we care.

When we visit a mission and are allotted our 5 gallons to bathe with for the day… we care

when we are dehydrated from vomiting all day and slowly going insane in our concrete prison of a hostel, as we desperately search for just one little drop of water from the bone dry bottles on the floor… we care.. and we are willing to do nearly anything to get the water we need. We flip into survival mode… and we run out into the night looking for water. (some of you know it as the “both ends” story)

Most people reading this are in the same situation that I am right now. We have water and we often take it for granted. I am actually getting thirsty as I write this, so i am going to get some water right now.

refreshing.

I see some serious crossover with this concept though. I think we can take many things fro granted if we forget what it is like to be without them. This has spiritual implications as well. Maybe this is part of why it is so important for us to share our faith with others and invite them into the salvation that Christ offers. Not only is that something that is life giving for others, but it can remind us of what it is like to be “thirsty”.

Now, I am not talking about “making christians” I am talking about living out what we believe. When we operate in the identity of Sons and Daughters of God we drink deep from the salvation that has been given to us. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control… these things are life giving and when we live these out we are sharing our faith.

We are given a choice in all of this. We can drink deep from the life giving water and share this with others.. or we can allow the acidic sweetness to stain our teeth and destroy our bodies.

We need to be intentional.

We need to remember what it means to be “thirsty”, to be separated from God… and we need to live out our salvation by bringing water to those who thirst. In doing this we are reminded of what it means to thirst and we will desire to drink deep.

He calls the shots.  For most of us, we have always wanted to get to the place where we call the shots in life.  No boss.  No set schedule.  There is no one to whom we have to answer.  He calls the shots in a different way.  He calls the game.  From behind the plate, he signals to the pitcher what pitch should be thrown next, and then he sets up a target for the pitcher in the exact location where the pitch should be thrown.

It is not an easy job.  On the field, he makes a hundred or more decisions throughout one game, trying to baffle the hitter so the Houston Astros can win the game.  JR Towles has learned how to game plan for Major League hitters and he calls the shots for the pitcher during the game.  In his life, though, he has learned that it is God who is calling the shots and he walks humbly down the trail that God has cut for him.

I caught up with JR in Kissimmee, FL this season during Spring Training.  He stood there intent on talking about a faith that has changed his life in more than one way.

Faith

JR Towles grew up loving the game of baseball and at an early age in life, he heard the gospel and gave his life to Jesus Christ.  His two great passions began to develop and to grow deeper as his life progressed and before long, JR would see how God would use his passion for baseball to give JR an audience to share the gospel with others who were looking for answers for their lives.

Career

Q – How has your faith influenced your career?

“It (faith) has everything to do with it.  If it wasn’t for Him, I wouldn’t have anything.  Like my favorite verse says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He’s where all your strength comes from and without Him, nothing’s possible.”

Q – How hard is it to stand strong in your faith in the world of Major League Baseball?

“I don’t think it’s too hard for me.  He’s given you everything and everything comes from Him.  As long as you give Him credit and try to do everything you can to glorify Him, it’s going to be alright.”

Q – How do you stay focused?

“We have Bible Studies some times.  I wake up early in the mornings and read the Bible.  (You) just try to hang around people who believe in Christ and talk about it.  It’s really hard to get going in a church because you’re playing games all the time but you have chapel and that helps you.”

Q – What is the highlight of your career so far?

“Getting to the Big Leagues was the highlight.”

Q – How do you stay positive when you know that failure can come?

“You can’t let your highs get too high or your lows get too low; you have to keep it on an even level.  Last year was real tough for me.  Just try to stay mentally positive and know that everything happens for a reason.  (You have to) Believe that He wouldn’t put you through it if He’s not going to get you through it.”

Q – In life, how have you handled setbacks?

“I’ve always been an underdog in my life.  I’ve always had to work the hardest.  You just have to overcome them.  Like I said before, everything happens for a reason and you just have to keep a positive attitude about it.”

Advice

Knowing that JR had always been an underdog, I felt like most of us could resonate with the drive it has taken him to get to where he is in life.  We all have had to push hard to get to the places where God has us and if we learn anything from the Bible, God loves to use underdogs for His purpose and to further His kingdom.

Q – What is your advice for those who have made mistakes in life?

“God’s a forgiving God.  He sent His Son to die on the cross for you so if you believe in Him, everything’s going to be alright.”

Q – How can men do a better job living their faith in day to day life?

“Always put Him first.  If you always put Him first, then everything else is going to get taken care of.  Just try to live the life that He has for you and try to please Him in any way you can and try to touch someone in a Christian way.  Try to be a good example to others, which is going to please Him.”

JR Towles’ story teaches us that anything is possible when it comes to a loving God who only wants what is best for His creation.  Regardless of the odds we face, we have God with us who is even bigger.  Regardless of what we have done in the past, we have God who forgives us and loves us unconditionally.  We may seem like underdogs but underdogs just happen to be what God loves to use.

* – Special thanks to Sally Gunter of the Houston Astros for helping us line up this interview.

Picture this: you’re walking along a beach at sunset, enjoying the view, the weather, and all of God’s creation. The waves washing up on the beach create a soft symphony that soothes away the cares of the world. The sunlight reflecting off the water offers a glimpse of how the streets of gold might look. Along the shore, scattered in no apparent design, are hundreds of pieces of driftwood. They seem to have been placed there by God Himself to add to the beauty of the scenery. At this moment, all is well with your soul.

Later, as you relax by a warm fire, you notice that you’re running low on firewood, and immediately, the driftwood comes to mind. It is then that you realize what God said in Hebrews 2:1. “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so we do not drift away.”

 Driftwood provides us with a good illustration of what happens to a Christian who drifts away.

 The process begins when a branch breaks its connection to the vine. Jesus said “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).” Through lack of intimate time with God and/or the local church family, the branch begins to break away and eventually falls to the ground. It is no longer a part of the vine, and isn’t even attached to the other branches. Instead, it lays helpless on the ground with the other branches that have also fallen away.

 Sooner or later, it gets washed away from even these, and ends up floating helplessly in the water, becoming rotten and bloated by the influence of its new surroundings. It has, by now, drifted far away from familiar ground and has lost its ability to resist temptation-it has become water-logged.

 In due time, though, it will wash up on a foreign shore where it will dry out, leaving only a shell of what it once was. Passers-by may notice how well it fits into its new environment, but really, it has no value. Its beauty is only skin deep. “Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6).”

 The moral of the story…STAY CONNECTED!

 Saemus Sutton is the author of Leaders Make Leaders, featuring the Wash, Rinse, Repeat mentoring model. You can view the model and download the book FREE at leadersmakeleaders.com

Last week I had the privilege of spending a week in the city of Brasov “Romania” together with an incredible team from the U.K. I always find traveling anywhere for the first time an exciting experience, especially when you just don’t know what to expect.

Romania is a country of massive contrast. The divide between the rich and the poor in huge and poverty is extreme in many areas over the country. We were staying with a Newfrontiers church in Brasov called “Christian Centre Brasov.” The leaders took us to a number of different outreach projects throughout the week that the church were doing for the community from a street kid’s centre to men’s football outreach. (I’d like to say we beat them, but I can’t)

We also spent some time in the gypsy villages which surround the city and this for myself and many on the team was probably the most moving experience of my life and something I know we will remember for years to come. The people we met literally had nothing. Many of the kids came into a small evening church service in the village with no shoes on and wearing clothes that had never been washed or changed for months. It’s not until we see with our own eyes how the majority of world lives that we realize just how much we have in the western world. Just as I type this into my laptop I am sitting in a warm comfy room, sipping freshly ground starbucks coffee and considering what to choose for tea tonight from stacks of selection in our fridge. We just have so much and that’s just the start.

I was a little unsure of how the evening service was going to go, especially as I had been asked to preach with a translator beside me so was clearly well aware of the language barrier we were facing. How were we going to worship together? How were we going to communicate at all? How were we going to relate or pray for one another? All these thing were going through my head. But then it all made sense.

Just as Florence (the pastor of the church) opened in prayer, all just came together. Of course we didn’t know what he was saying, but we didn’t have to. We entered into the presence of God and suddenly in that, we were united by the gospel. We each worshipped in our own language, but we were together as one, worshipping the one true God who is so much bigger than the limitations of language.

How often do we focus so much on the small pictures of our lives, our church, our worship band, our way of doing things. That we fail to realize that God is doing something all over the globe. We are apart of something so big, it breaks through culture and it break through language. We need to focus on the big picture so we can attempt to grasp the true supremacy of Christ over all things.

Colossians: 1v5-6 Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing.

Bind – Like the thread that binds up a tear, so God is able to mend the wounds of our hearts. This tattoo-inspired graphic depicts spools of thread binding up a heart that is on fire for the Lord! When we accept Christ, he comes in, heals us, and makes us new! Psalm 147:3

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Heavey and Light – Limited Edition Heavy and Light State shirt. This shirt marks the To Write Love On Her Arms Heavy and Light show January 11, 2009 that featured performances by:

Jon Foreman
Aaron Gillespie
Dustin Kensrue
Anthony Raneri
Josh Moore
and Zach Williams

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King of Kings – Rediswhite.com

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Found – The signature logo shirt presents the pig (sinner) aimlessly walking through life without direction. The FOUND wording signifies the poverty of spirit in which a sinner lives prior to being FOUND by God. Jesus was condemned by the Pharisees for eating with sinners and He rebukes them by telling three parables illustrating how God rejoices when one sinner repents (Luke 15:2-32). We can follow His example and share the message of God’s desire to find the lost.

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Praise and Contempt – “Where there should be praise, there is contempt” is a bold assertion. Acknowledging Jesus Christ as the sovereign ruler of the universe won’t win you a popularity contest and on top of that you can bet our culture won’t stop mocking our Lord anytime soon. Moving on, we (and this includes every living thing as well) are commanded to praise God. Luke 19:40 “I tell you, if these become silent, the very stones would cry out.” When people choose not to praise God but choose to praise everything else it shows the contempt they hold in their hearts for the Creator of all things.

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Revelation 5:5 – Between God and man was a gap of sin. Jesus bridged and pulled that gap together. This T shirts depicts a lion arising as though slain, I made it hard to see because great is the mystery of Godliness.

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All too familiar are the small statues of Christ’s lament. The Designer says ”I wanted to do a very textural yet simple hand drawn rendition of this iconic image. A large full front print will bring the details justice.”

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Sons of Thunder – Mark 3:17 – James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder” I have always loved this title over them. Sons of Thunder with a “Voice among Echos”.

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Love is the ultimate weapon – Inspired by 2 Corinthians 10:4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” Notice that the guns are all broken. Love has power above all weapons of this world.

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MLK day has never seemed so personal to me.  Yes, it has always been a day history, speeches, and tributes by atheletes as I watched the game, but it never really sunk in.   As I sat on our couch this MLK day,  putting my fingers through my wife’s dark curly hair, I was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude.  The work of this man as well as hundreds of others, paived the way for my wife and I to live in a nation that does not persecute interracial marriage.  Other than a few people staring here and there, we have not had to endure the hatred that men and women in interracial relationships have in the past.  My curiousity grew about this subject, so I looked into some historical facts to see just how far we have come as a nation.  Are we truly tollerant of the ultimate desegregation?  A white man, married to a black woman? 

The Facts:

In the early 1900’s, racist postcards dipicted peoples views of Interracial marriage.

Not Particular
I know you’re not particular to a fault
Though I’m not sure you’ll never be sued for assault
You’re so fond of women that even a wench
Attracts your gross fancy despite her strong stench

Interracial relationships banned at a University until 2000

 For decades, Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina used biblical references in attempt to justify its position and threatened students with expulsion for breaking this rule. It was only in 2000 when their interracial dating prohibition was repealed when President Bob Jones III publicly announced its nullification on Larry King Live.

I would love to know what scripture he used to back that up when the bible clearly says: 

The Bible does not even use the word race in reference to people,⁸ but does describe all human beings as being of ‘one blood’ (Acts 17:26).

The number of interracial marriages in the United States, although varying by region, has been on the rise:

In 1970, there were 310,000 documented cases, representing .7% of all marriages

In 1980, there were 651,000, representing 1.3% of all marriages

In 1992, there were 1,161,000, representing 2.2% of all marriages

For Americans, Black-white marriages tend to be the most controversial.

In a 2003 Ford poll of 1,314 Americans of varied races, 3 in 10 reported they were against black-white marriage, but were more willing to accept white-Hispanic or white-Asian marriages. Marriage between Whites and Asians, and particularly light-skinned North East Asians, is considered the least controversial.

But it is getting better, acceptance is on the rise.

2001 New York Times study (summarized in the Pulitzer Prize winning series) published in the book “How Race is Lived in America” found that approval ratings have steadily increased over the years.

2001 – approve 65%(whites 63%, blacks 79%) disapprove 26% (whites 29%, blacks 15%)

1991 – approve 48%, disapprove 42%

1972 – approve 29%, disapprove 60%

1978 – approve 36%, disapprove 54%

It really suprised me that almost 1/3 of people still have an issue with a white/black couple.  However, by looking at the trends, I believe this issue will almost be obsolete for our children.  We owe so much to Dr. King and the civil rights movement.  Personally, I get to live with the fruits of his labor, everyday.

Pro 6:6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. (ESV)

With the renowned British weather now giving us more hot sunny days than cold or wet days, a whole manner of insects and bugs thrive in the new season. All of a sudden they stir from their slumber and begin to make life all the more interesting, often at the most inconvenient times and in the most annoying of ways!

One of these creatures is the ant. Think about ants – have you ever watched how they do things? Before you knock over an anthill or get the boiling water ready, let’s look at five things we can learn from ants about getting things done.

Firstly, ants build huge colonies to survive in. Although one ant may seem insignificant, each ant has the bigger picture in mind – it knows how its particular task contributes towards the bigger picture of things. If we know the bigger picture of what we are trying to achieve, it can help us make decisions and prioritise tasks as we take steps towards our goal.

Secondly, ants work with what they have got. They make use of any resources around them – twigs, leaves, stones, whatever they can get hold of. Sometimes we let lack of resources be an excuse to not begin the tasks before us when we could use it as an opportunity to be resourceful, creative and adventurous.

Thirdly, ants do things bit by bit. A mammoth task is broken down into many smaller, more manageable jobs. And as the ant diligently perseveres, even the biggest obstacle is moved. We can draw inspiration from this – no matter how big the task in front of us is, often we just need to do one bit at a time. As we keep going we start to see the impact our seemingly small actions have.

Fourthly, ants keep going. If they don’t, the odds are they won’t survive. They are persistent and persevere – they don’t quit. They are faithful and hard working which, like us, is the only way they will see the results they want to.

Fifthly, ants prepare for the season ahead of them. During the summer, they collect their food for the winter months. They don’t live in the moment or refuse to think ahead but instead work now to save problems later down the line. Ants don’t procrastinate because if they do, there could be a big problem approaching they would be unable to deal with later down the line. They show us what it means to think about what is coming.

Ants are persistent and hard working. They don’t bite off more than they can chew. They work bit by bit. If we want to be productive and successful, let’s remember the ant.

Anthony Hilder is a professional life coach based at www.lifematters.me.uk. Previously he was involved in church leadership and corporate banking. He blogs at www.anthilder.co.uk.

I am not good at golf. It is a wonderful and frustrating activity. The more I play, the more I realize that golf is a sport that you can never master – no matter how much you practice. But it is a game that offers moments when it’s possible to trick yourself into thinking you’re starting to figure things out, although you’re sure to do something (hit a shot into the woods, water or sand) and realize you have no idea what you’re doing just a few moments later. I’m convinced that I could play golf every day for the rest of my life and still be a terrible golfer. I’d still get frustrated and I’d still hit plenty of bad shots that make me want to yell bad words loudly. But I’d probably hit at least one “perfect shot” each round that would make it all worth it and keep me coming back to play again, not quite ready to give up the idea that I’d figure it out and finally be good.

Now that the Minnesota weather is finally starting to cooperate and it’s safe to assume winter is actually over (probably), there are a lot of people in this area of the country who are going downstairs to get their golf clubs out of the basement, practicing their swing in the back yard and making plans to fill their summer with days of chasing a little white ball around the woods. If you think about it, the whole idea of golf is a rather bizarre and backwards thing. Many people spend a lot of time and money on all the things involved in the game of golf (equipment, accessories, green fees, vacation time). At many golf courses you actually have to plan ahead and reserve a time to play. Coincidentally, the courses where “tee times” are required are also more expensive. Now, assuming I’m not the only person who finds golf to be a rather frustrating experience, doesn’t it seem strange that so many people are getting excited about days filled with frustration. And the whole making a tee time thing…what does it say about golfers that we take the time to actually schedule what time we will start getting pissed at ourselves?

Shouldn’t those phone calls actually sound something like this…

Golf Course person: Hello, thanks for calling the golf course.

Golfer: Hi, I’d like to make a tee time for this Friday.

GC Person: Okay, what time would you like your attitude to start getting negative?

Golfer: I was hoping to start getting mad at myself around 9:00am.

GC Person: We have an opening at 9:13am, would you be willing to stay somewhat positive and optimistic for about 13 minutes later into the day?

Golfer: I suppose that would work.

GC Person: How many people will be getting angry and frustrated with you?

Golfer: There will be four of us.

GC Person: And would you like to get some exercise while getting disappointed?

Golfer: Excuse me?

GC Person: Would you like to walk or can we charge you a bunch of extra money to drive around in a glorified go-kart while complaining about how you’re playing?

Golfer: We’ll take two carts please.

GC Person: Great. We have you down for four people at 9:13 am this Friday. It will cost you each at least $50 of your hard earned money. See you then.

Golfer: Looking forward to it.

Like I said, I’m not a good golfer. But for some reason I keep playing, and every spring I get excited about getting back out on the course. If the old adage goes “everything I needed to know about life I learned from the game of golf” is true – and in some ways, I think it is – then every time I waste time and money playing golf I learn something…about life, about the world, and about myself.

I don’t spend a lot of money on golf. I play most of my golf each summer at my cabin where there is a decent 9-hole course half a mile down the road and it only costs around $10. My dad and I (and sometimes my brother-in-law) begin many of our days on the golf course and then return to the cabin to drink coffee and eat some breakfast (including bacon if we’re lucky!) before spending the rest of the day living the good life of being at the cabin.
About once a summer I get the chance to be at my cabin all by myself, and although it’s a place I usually think of spending time with family and friends, it’s always nice to get away and spend some time there on my own. Although my dad is a great golf partner – read: he’s not way better than me, although I’ve still never beat him – it’s sometimes fun to play alone without having to worry about anyone else seeing how bad I am. The problem with this of course, is what happens if I hit an amazing shot and no one is there to witness it although this rarely happens). What if I got a hole-in-one and no one saw it happen, would anyone believe me? (If you’ve seen me golf, please don’t answer that question.)

I wrote the following thoughts after playing golf by myself one morning at my cabin a few years ago.

Location: A golf course in Northwest Wisconsin
Date: Tuesday, August 08, 2006
6th Hole: Par 4, 289 yards, dog-leg left

I hit a hybrid 3 iron/wood off the tee. It was the perfect shot. Higher than my normal drive, with a slight hook that followed the turn of the fairway…everything about it felt right. It was about 9:30 in the morning, so the sun was still at a sharp angle facing down at me, forcing me to squint while watching the ball sail through the air…it was glorious! (Read that last line like Will Ferrel would say it, “it was glooorrriious!”) I gently put my club back and picked up my bag and started walking through the wet grass to find where my golf ball’s journey had ended.

Quick aside: There are two kinds of walks a golfer can have on the golf course, and many different variations of each. The first is the “I just hit a great shot and I want everyone to notice” walk (confidence, pride, puffing out chest and walking slowly to enjoy the feeling) and the second is the “that shot sucked and I want to get to my ball right now so I can hit it again before people see where I ended up” walk (frustrated, head down, muttering words you wouldn’t say around your grandma).

Since I was golfing by myself this morning, I enjoyed the walk on my own. Soaking in the wonderful feeling of every step, knowing that I had just hit a great shot. I noticed a grounds crew worker sprinkling fertilizer on the green ahead. “I bet he’s impressed,” I thought to myself. Assuming he had seen my ball drop onto the middle of the fairway behind him.

Because of the bright sun and wet dew, every clump of grass and leaf had a shine to it that could have been mistaken for a golf ball from a distance, and as I got closer to where I thought my ball had landed, I didn’t see a golf ball anywhere. Since I hadn’t actually seen where my ball ended up because of the bright sun, I assumed it had either rolled just off the fairway or better yet, followed its hooking path and continued down the middle of the fairway toward the hole.

I checked both. There was no golf ball. Although I was a bit confused, I wasn’t worried. It had to be around somewhere, since after all, I had hit that ball perfectly.

Another aside: Just like there are two ways for a golfer to walk after hitting a shot, there are also two ways for a golfer to look for a missing ball. You can look for a ball “where you think it is” or “where you hope it is.” Occasionally where you think it is, is actually worse than where it actually is; sometimes where you think it is, is the same place where you hope it is; and oftentimes where you think and hope it is, is where it will never be in a million years – no matter how much you practice. On this morning, where I thought it was, was in the middle of the fairway, 100 yards from the hole…but there was no golf ball where I hoped there would be, or anywhere else nearby for that matter.

I looked everywhere possible for that ball, but found nothing. I couldn’t believe it. How could I hit a ball perfectly and then not find it? My pride crept into my thoughts as I continued looking. “It must be up here,” I thought. “I hit the ball perfect, it has to be somewhere around here…and it has to be somewhere good!”
I never did find that golf ball. Where it ended up is a mystery I guess. So what does any of this have to do with life as a Christian? After all, I titled this piece “the double-bogey Christian.”

As Christians (and/or as golfers), we often think we’re doing better than we really are. We think we’re doing things perfectly or are at least on our way toward becoming better, and even when we get lost or confused, we think we’ll find what we’re looking for and figure it all out. We assume people are impressed by us and that we have reason to walk around with a lot of pride, like we’re pretty special. We don’t want to admit that we really don’t know what we’re doing and we’re not nearly as good as we think.

Golf is intended to be fun and relaxing, so I’ve learned that it’s best for me to lower my expectations so I don’t end up frustrated and mad. It’s common for most people shoot for par, but I think I am more realistic than most people. I realize that if I tee off on every hole with the goal/expectation of getting par, I will at best live up to my expectations, and at worst fall terribly short and be disappointed. I am a double-bogy golfer, so that’s my goal.

Sure, I’ll get an occasional bogey, par or a very rare birdie, but when the round is done my overall score will average out to a bunch of double-bogeys.

So too goes my life as a Christian. Everyday I wake up fully intending to do good and be good (call it living “par”), yet I stumble in sin and end up with a bunch of double-bogeys.

I’ve golfed enough to know that a par for me is like an eagle for Tiger Woods, but a double-bogey for me is like Tiger getting a par. It’s more realistic to step up to the tees thinking I’m going to get a bogey or double-bogey than tricking myself into expecting I’m going to get a par or birdie.

As Christians, we often fool ourselves into thinking we can live life under par, the equivalent of being perfect, as if we have everything figured out and we’ve done something to be proud of…so we walk feeling pretty proud of ourselves. Yet, in reality, if there was a scorecard for our life, it would have a lot of numbers with squares rather than circles (note: when scoring in golf, you draw a square around a score over par and a circle around scores under par).

I am a double-bogey Christian, and if you are honest with yourself, so are you…and that’s okay. God’s grace is sufficient for me, you and everyone else doing their best to make it through 18-holes of life.

Visit Andy’s blog at anewdoxology.com for more insightful writing.

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