“GOLF’S SACRED
JOURNEY”
(Frank Black)
Hey, wait a minute; isn’t
this supposed to be a write-up for our church?
Not about golf! You’re right; and
no, I haven’t sent this article to the wrong place. I’ll explain.
First,
I want to recommend a book, Golf’s Sacred Journey – by David Cook, PhD – Sports Psychologist. It came out in 2006 and has since been made
into a movie starring Robert Duvall - the movie’s title was changed to, “Seven
Days In Utopia”. The book and movie are
about golf, yes; but oh so much more. It
uses golf as a springboard to teaching about life principles – Christian
principles. These are woven into the
plot all throughout. I recommend it
strongly. You’ll be glad you read the
book or saw the movie.
How
many of you play golf – or have attempted to play golf in the past? Or are you like one of my daughters who
thinks golf is as exciting as “watching grass grow”. But anyway, you all know what the game
is. I’m here to tell you that it’s the most difficult game in
the world!
“Now, wait a minute Frank, no way!”
“All you have to do is hit a stationary ball and get it into a
hole.” My answer to that is, “Try
it.” The variables
are infinite – like they are in life. But more about that
later.
You
may still be thinking, “That’s fine, but how does this relate to me?” I’ll list a few of the areas presented in the
book and how they relate to a living a Christian life:
·
Learning: We should be constantly learning! Never stop.
Age is not a factor in this.
·
Teaching: We as Christians should always be looking to
teach others – by word and example and more.
The book depicts Robert Duvall as the teacher or mentor [a golf guru]
for his younger pupil. Certainly we
adult Christians should look to become teachers and mentors [a guru, if you
will] for those with whom we have influence – those younger, the same age, or
older.
·
Mistakes: Golf played by the very best [or worst] is a
game of mistakes [bad shots, etc.] and overcoming them. Now isn’t this an analogy of our very lives!?
- making mistakes or bad decisions and
prayerfully, painstakingly, and actively overcoming them. Our Christian lives
should be about forgiving, repentance, rebounding, recovery, resilience,
perseverance, and more. [These words and
traits just roll off the keyboard but are so very difficult in our real
lives. Let us all pray regularly
regarding our areas of weakness and enlist the help of other Christians.]
·
Consistency: Every golfer [no matter what their level of
play] would just love to
play with consistency. Our lives as
Christians should also be ones of consistency – we should be viewed the same in
the church building, our car, at home, at work, on the golf course, etc. Are you?
·
Variables: I mentioned this above. Everyone reading this can quickly enumerate
many variables in your lives in just the last month. Golf basically has infinite variables
[weather conditions, whether the ball is sitting up on the grass or down in the
weeds, distance from the hole, hitting up hill or down hill, on and on – I
won’t bore you anymore]. Golf and life
are about overcoming variables – adjusting, having flexibility, not being
stymied by unexpected events or changes, and then moving on with your very
best.
·
Enjoy the journey: Golf is a game. Enjoy it!
Enjoy being in God’s wonderful creation, being with friends, etc. Look beyond your mistakes and bad shots. Life is not a game of course, but the other
principles hold true. Pray for the
qualities mentioned; pray to remain positive – to be a mentor – to finish well.
=========================================================
BIBLICAL
PRINCIPLES:
·
Hebrews 13:8 -
Jesus showed CONSISTENCY
– He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
·
I Cor. 9:22 – Paul showed FLEXIBILITY – He became all things to all men……
·
Hebrews 5:12 - We are told we should be TEACHERS
·
Romans 2:7; James 1:12 – PERSEVERANCE.
There are many scriptures on “perseverance”; therefore, God knew of our
human difficulty in sustaining, maintaining, persevering. Pray to enlist God’s help in your life in
order to persevere.
No comments:
Post a Comment