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.

Evil Genes

A recent study by Swedish researchers claims a common gene variant (or allele) found in both men and rodents regulates a hormone that can affect a husband’s fidelity to his spouse. Without the gene variant, a man is more likely to be faithful, but with it, the possibility of infidelity is increased. One psychologist views this as a positive tool for proactive marriage counseling, though he admits there is some danger associated with its use as a defense for adultery.

While some consider this as something of a breakthrough in genetics research, the real discovery here has to do more with the researchers studying than the subjects studied. In other words, this appears to be just another in a long line of sinful attempts at justifying fallen man in his sinfulness. It illustrates how men seek to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Ro 1:18). Knowing that such things deserve death, “they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Ro 1:32). Blaming a gene for immorality tries to remove the sting from a guilty conscience. In fact, the real reason for infidelity is the sinful, human heart, “for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery…” (Mt 15:19). To counsel an unfaithful husband that “his genetics made him do it” is folly. The cause is sin, and the only remedy for an unfaithful spouse is the grace of Jesus Christ, who is able to forgive, renew, and restore a man and his marriage. If one will but trust in Him and repent of his sin, he will experience real reform. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Is 55:7).