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AUGUST 3, 2011
IS ANYONE NOTICING?
On the contrary, those parts that seem to be weaker are indispensible, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with
honor. (1 Corinthians 12:22-23, NIV)
Maybe you’re a big enough golf fan to know that one of Tiger Woods’ records fell this past weekend. Yani
Tseng, the world’s number one female player, won her second consecutive Women’s British Open, which was her fifth major. She is 22. Tiger Woods was 24 when he won his fifth major. Jack
Nicklaus was 26. Annika Sorenstam? 32.
Quietly, unless perhaps you are Taiwanese or travel with the LPGA Tour, Yani Tseng has become the most dominant young
player in the history of the sport.
Now you may propose all the reasons you’d like as to why this feat isn’t so grand as Tiger’s or
Jack’s. You might say that the men’s game is more competitive or that the rising Asian “golf factory” was bound to produce a player like this or that she’ll burn out soon
and never catch Jack’s total—or even Patty Berg’s (which, at 15 major wins, leads all women). You may do whatever it takes to denigrate Tseng’s accomplishments. But if you do,
you’ll only be serving our discussion today.
Which is this: in God’s kingdom, in the body of Christ, it is the unsung who are sung over.
In both his letters to them, the apostle Paul spent significant time addressing concerns he had about the way the
Corinthians were “doing church.” Mainly, they were overemphasizing certain gifts and the people who possessed them. They loved the “super apostles” who taught smoothly and cheered
those who had the “cool” gifts, like healing or miracles. In a lot of ways they were like us—quick to create celebrities.
Paul stepped in to cut off this trend. “All who are in Christ, all who are equipped by the Spirit,” he was
telling them, “are gifted for the purpose of edifying the whole body.”
“Oh, and by the way,” he went on, “the ‘little people,’ those who do their work backstage
and don’t care for the fanfare—these are the biggest heroes. You could do nothing without them.”
What might it take for you to start a new trend where you are plugged in to the kingdom, a trend that seeks out and
honors the unnoticed? You might have to ask some intentional questions and you might have to meet some new people. You might have to get creative about how to bless those who don’t want attention.
You might have to quit worrying about who people see you hanging out with. You might have to become less recognition-driven yourself.
Yani Tseng’s coach, Gary Gilchrist, evaluates her this way: “A lot of times you teach golfers and they
don’t ask any questions. But she is always wanting to know, ‘How can I improve? What did you see today? Is there anything I could have done better?’”
Maybe it is Tseng’s humility that has kept her from superstar status. But it is that humility that makes her the
best in the world—the key ingredient to the success of a tour that desperately needs help. Let’s learn from her learning. Let’s do what we can to become better at finding and
encouraging those “key players” among us whom no one is noticing.
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Jeff Hopper
August 3, 2011
Copyright © 2011 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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