A Christian Worldview from Silicon Valley

WARNING - This post is about golf…sorta…and doing the wrong thing…mostly…and paying for it in the end.

How does a sinner’s mind work? I don’t know about yours, but I reluctantly share here how my mind works.

I was hanging out at the Samsung LPGA World Championships in Half Moon Bay hoping secretly that the preacher was eating his heart out because I can smooze with Lorena Ochoa, the world’s #1 and Annika Sorenstam #2, and…okay, the world’s top 20golfin’ girls.

Feeling pretty good about myself because I can do what others cannot is the first step a sinner takes. Call it pride, I suppose.

Hole number four is a long one - 481 yards par 5. The neat thing, I think, is that to the left there is a long stretch of overgrowth. I usually notice these things because when I play my golf balls are quite apt at finding such places.

(more…)

Rocco needed more rocks. David picked up five smooth stones and used one, Rocco brought at least a dozen dimpled Callaway balls and 14 clubs, but they weren’t enough. After it was over, Rocco said he threw everything he had at him, including the kitchen sink, but even that wasn’t enough. He said, “I just about got him.”

What does all that say to us? Do David’s usually lose? From my perspective, David never loses. Sure, Tiger Woods won and got the U.S. Open title and the trophy, Rocco Mediate got the runner up check and the respect and admiration of lots of people, and life goes on. But David, the shepherd who became the king, put his trust not in specially forged weapons of steel and not even in his sling and stones, but in the Lord.

Put your trust in the Lord, and you, too, will prevail. You may die along the way, but you will prevail.

Back in some year long, long ago, a shepherd boy named David slew a giant named Goliath. As I write, a journeyman golf professional named Rocco has the advantage over a giant named Tiger.

Rocco Mediate vs. Tiger Woods. The 158th ranked player in the world vs. the number 1 ranked player in the world. A 45 year-old who has never won a major against a 32 year-old who has won 13 of them. Lots of people are rooting for David (Rocco), but not many people have been betting on him to win.

In the press room the day before this playoff for the 2008 U.S. Open championship, Rocco said he was looking forward to the match. He noted that they were just playing golf, not fighting. “If we were fighting, I’d be in big trouble.” Most observers figured he was in big trouble anyway, but with just two holes left to play, Rocco is not only not in trouble, he has a one shot lead.

It’ll be a compelling story if he wins, but is it really David and Goliath? David was risking his life for the Lord and for Israel, and was relying on the Lord for help. Goliath was trying to help wipe out or take over the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. Rocco and Tiger are playing for a big title, for big money, and for a place in history.

But maybe, just maybe, as the media folks keep talking about David and Goliath, people who are watching Rocco and Tiger will think about the originals.

Stay tuned…