Tiger's Tiger

News of Tiger Woods’ infidelities rocked the world. His double life finally caught up with him, and it cost him dearly. He lost his sponsors, his wife and his dignity, and a horrified public scratched their heads saying, “How could he have done such a thing?” From those shocking revelations most concluded that he was overcome by an illness – an addiction - which destroyed his image. What he needs, they say, is a good dose of therapy. But what our culture wrongly describes as an addiction requiring treatment is correctly identified in Scripture as a sin that demands repentance. What that means, at least in part, is that Tiger’s problem is far more urgent and dangerous than people think.

Adultery is not a symptom but a sin. It is the outworking of an indwelling principle of iniquity that plagues every one of us. Indeed, in each heart sin crouches at the door seeking to devour, and unless one does well, he will not rule over it (Gen 4:7). Therefore Tiger has a “tiger” on his hands. He’ll need more than treatment because he is in for a fight. The poignant reality is that he is no match for this sinister beast. It has devoured the best this world has to offer. So like every other sinner Tiger must obtain power from outside himself if he has any hope of mastering the fiend. More specifically, he will need the radical and regenerative influence of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, if he ever hopes to prevail. His golf prowess pales in comparison to the prowess of sin to dupe and destroy. Therefore to win this match He must look to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2), and humbly rely on the indwelling Spirit’s life-giving and heart-transforming energy. Only then will Tiger Woods be whole in One.