When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2, NIV)
This is a tough subject for most golfers. When does competition become counter-productive? When does that insidious pride sneak in, and we want to draw attention to ourselves? When does competition consume and cloud the big picture?
We become good at anything by spending a lot of time and attention on the subject. We practice hard and play hard so that we can excel. It is part of our nature. Competition is good, so why try to squelch it?
I am preaching to myself at this point. Having played competitive golf at all levels, it is sometimes hard to throttle back when you are playing the Wednesday afternoon game or Saturday morning matches with good friends. It is especially troublesome being overly competitive when you are representing a golf ministry, of all things. We do want to play well and return a good score, so that this God-given gift can be used as a platform for directing all to Jesus Christ as Savior. It is often good to answer the question, “Why do I want to excel and win at any cost?”
I think the answer lies in that often-misunderstood word: pride. In Mark 8, Jesus warned his disciples to be careful lest we succumb to the yeast of the Pharisees. Here was their problem—not that they were not religious or following God, but that they were trying to draw attention to themselves and not giving the proper glory to God. The Bible often uses the metaphor of yeast compared to pride and arrogance. When you properly put a little yeast in the dough, it puffs up. If you put too much in, it blows up. When you are filled with pride, you blow things out of proportion. You become the center of attention and not God. Jesus knew this truth and issued the warning because he also knew we would struggle in this arena. We can witness this often today, even in the spiritual arena when pastors or laymen who are doing God’s work desire or need more attention. It is a slippery slope when one takes pride in the size of your church, the successful building program, or even the number of baptisms.
Pride seeks greatness apart from God. This often starts with good motives and right desires in promoting God’s greatness, and then it gets out of hand. “Wow, look what I have done!” Or, “Look at my golf scores and tournament wins!” You are doing God’s work, but you start thinking that the people are applauding you. Imagine if the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem got to thinking that the crowd had turned out to see him rather than Jesus!
In our golf as well as our life and ministry, let us be careful to give credit where it is due—to our Father in heaven, who supplied us with every good and perfect gift. It is not a competition but a complete understanding of who we are in the midst of an all-sovereign and powerful God. Let’s strive to do our best and give the glory to God.
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Randy Wolff
August 11, 2014
Copyright 2014 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.