Can Woods be(come) good? The lie of the Tiger

RenewAmerica ^ | 12-22-09 | Tom O'Toole

[mlizzy]

I observed a young man with no sense
Going along the street...at the time of the dark of night
A bag of money he took with him
not till the full moon will he return home...
Can a man take fire to his bosom
and his garments not be scorched?
...he who commits adultery is a fool;
He who would destroy himself does it.
(Proverbs 6:27, 32; 8:7-8, 20)

"I feel cheated!" my wife Jeanette lamented (no pun intended) as the Tiger Woods saga snowballed from a minor traffic accident into a major infidelity scandal. Meanwhile, our female chiropractor-acupuncturist, who, like Jeanette had never been a fan of golf until she had been swept away by Tiger's unique blend of talent, determination and charm, exclaimed, "If he's so sick he can't control himself, he at least should have stayed single!" As a huge sports fan (and former Tiger fanatic) myself, I can in many ways relate to my wife's disillusionment. And, while I don't disagree with my doctor's analysis, I'd also say the diagnosis is not so simple.

Now before we get into the "bad" Tiger, it is important to remember why so many spectators admired him in the first place. Woods' discipline to "obtain the perishable crown" (1 Cor 9:25) was perhaps unparalled, and while he had never professed pursuit of the imperishable one Paul talked about, many Christians assumed it was only a matter of time. After all, Tiger had a beautiful wife and two kids, and they always looked so happy as Woods would kiss and embrace them after he had won yet another hard fought tournament...

[mlizzy]

Still praying for the Woods family (and for forgiveness of a different sort in my own birth family, and for the miraculous healing of a good friend with liver cancer, and for the death of the health-care bill, and so on and so on).

[HospiceNurse]

His doctor has been arrested in Canada for providing performance enhancing drugs to athletes

[HospiceNurse]

Cheating is part of his personality

[period end of story]

Remember not to invite Tiger over for Christmas dinner: he hogs all the white meat.

[LukeL]

This story got my friend and I into an argument. I was saying how it is stupid to worship celebrities and that you cannot separate the personal life, from his professional life. The fact that Tiger is probably the greatest golfer ever means nothing because he has shown to be a sad excuse for a man, husband, and father.

As a Christian and someone who hopes to be a chaplain someday I pray he turns his life around and his marriage can be repaired, but that still doesn't erase what is in his past.

[FreeperFlirt]

lol. thats funny I don’t care who you are!

[Talisker]

"I feel cheated!" my wife Jeanette lamented (no pun intended) as the Tiger Woods saga snowballed from a minor traffic accident into a major infidelity scandal.

Your wife needs a reality check.

Tiger cheated no one but his wife.

Wake up, and grow up.

[mlizzy]

As a Christian and someone who hopes to be a chaplain someday I pray he turns his life around and his marriage can be repaired, but that still doesn't erase what is in his past.

Best wishes on your upcoming pastorhood, and it is kind you are praying for Tiger -- most it seems are disgusted with the whole affair. I'd have to disagree with you slightly on erasing error from the past, however. I've read that in asking forgiveness through Christ (I'm Catholic; we dump our sins via the confessional), AND it is sincere, the Lord forgives as if it never happened. Sounds rather remarkable, but Saul went to St. Paul, and I don't think the Lord even thinks one minute about his transgressions, nor those of Augustine, etc. Of course, maybe you are referring to his wife, Elin. And it would be difficult at best to erase the hurt her husband has caused her (but, still, not impossible through Christ).

[mlizzy]

... Tiger cheated no one but his wife. Wake up, and grow up.

He cheated everyone who believed in him, rooted for him, and cared about him; his fans, his advertisers, his caddy, his kids, his birth family and relatives, the women he had affairs with. That's the problem with sin ... it doesn't just affect one person. If you don't know that already, you have some growing up to do yourself.

[databoss]

Don’t forget that in the end he truly cheated himself...

[Common Sense 101]

One of the greatest ironies in this whole saga... Tiger excels in a sport that requires honesty and integrity; too bad he didn’t have the same respect and appreciation for his wife and family, as he does for the game of golf.

[glide625]

True perhpaps, but who believed in him? Tiger is nothing more than a reflection of the truth of probably the majority of U.S. society; yea, they’ve got a moral compass, but it doesn’t have a needle.

[EVO X]

One of the greatest ironies in this whole saga... Tiger excels in a sport that requires honesty and integrity; too bad he didn’t have the same respect and appreciation for his wife and family, as he does for the game of golf.

Hopefully, you won't have to modify that comment...

[mlizzy]

One of the greatest ironies in this whole saga... Tiger excels in a sport that requires honesty and integrity; too bad he didn’t have the same respect and appreciation for his wife and family, as he does for the game of golf.

It's troublesome. I agree. He follows the wrong guy spiritually, but so do I sometimes. So he's going to get my prayers here and there (and so most definitely is Elin) when I'm not busy praying for this country of ours in its entirety. What a mess!

[LukeL]

It is true that the Lord forgets as he demands 100% perfection and that can only be achieved by never sinning. (Which happens when we put our sins on the Cross)

However man does not forget and in a way we really shouldn't forget. For example if someone was found guilty of embezzlement, you wouldn't want him in charge of your company payroll. But we still should try our best not to hold the past against someone and let them earn your trust.

[Talisker]

That's the problem with sin ... it doesn't just affect one person. If you don't know that already, you have some growing up to do yourself.

Equating effects with responsibility is a false generalisation. You demand a moral perfection from Tiger that you cannot hope to attain yourself, nor would ever accept as put on you by another. I'm not talking about his screwing around - because you're not actually talking about that, either. Instead, you are inflating him to superhuman levels of responsibility towards keeping millions of people's illusion of perfection intact. This is the cry of a child who's toy just got broken.

Collective sin is very popular amongst everyone but God. It is the refuge of children, and in this day and age, very arrogant, nasty-tongued children who are sure that the very fact of their pain is proof someone did them wrong. If you projected your dreams of perfection onto Tiger, and now you are disappointed, then it's up to you to learn about your own naivete'. Tiger owed you nothing, and violated nothing towards you. Defending your immaturity with a claim of religious wisdom is repulsive.

[Talisker]

Don’t forget that in the end he truly cheated himself...

I left it out because I don't claim to know why he's done what he's done - what the world sees as heinous, God may well see as what the Greeks referred to as Tragedy - an unavoidable catastrophe based on a human being's inability to handle all of the problems they are faced with.

It's not hard to see - Tiger had a beautiful familiy he consistantly acted very loving towards. So basically people get to choose between a tormented man struggling with something he feared would destroy everything he loved, and just some rotten bastard who never really gave a damn or felt any love.

Guess which explanation people leap for, with their eyes gleaming?

Being overwhelmed by complexity, having childhood trauma issues, PTSD, all sorts of things are considered by people except where sex is involved. Then everyone rushes to People magazine and Oprah to get their absolutely polarized, corporately manipulated, highly emotional opinions. Especially, it's the one time all of the conservative women suddenly become full-blown ball-whacking Feminists who refuse to consider any other explaination than Tiger is an incarnation of utterly incorrigable satanic evil towards, literally, the entire human race.

Against the enjoyment people are having over such rightious damnation, nothing can prevail.

[mlizzy]

If you projected your dreams of perfection onto Tiger, and now you are disappointed, then it's up to you to learn about your own naivete'. Tiger owed you nothing, and violated nothing towards you. Defending your immaturity with a claim of religious wisdom is repulsive.

After reading your comment, it's difficult to believe you even read the article. Tiger Woods already knows he hurt many people (he's apologized to a whole slew of supporters). Think of all the kids he was a role model to. And I don't know what you're talking about regarding religion. We all need prayers. Certainly TW wouldn't mind people praying for him. And his wife, although probably not real positive at the moment as she's talking divorce, would be thrilled if they worked!

(The prayers and sufferings of Augustine's mother, Monica, brought him out of debauchery and into sainthood.)

[Talisker]

...he's apologized to a whole slew of supporters). ...And I don't know what you're talking about regarding religion. We all need prayers.

Sure he's apologized - he's being shamed beyond belief by utterly unforgiving hypocrites without a shred of mercy. He's being crushed by the righteous judgement of millions, damned in the name of God and all the Saints, loathed and scorned and rejected by those who held him up so very high in their minds - and then prayed for by those very same lovely people.

If you want to pray, ask that God never pours onto your head the judgement Tiger is receiving now by people who believe that their disappointment actually has the power to create sin in him.

I've got a great idea - why not tie him up and throw him in a pond while praying for his soul? If he's innocent, he'll float. And if he drowns, well hey, you prayed for him. After all, he disappointed millions of people and children, who had absolutely no responsibility for their delusions, and cannot be expected to learn from the self-examination of their own hypocrisy.

[mlizzy]

You are so full of folly. I have not belittled Tiger at all, nor has the person who wrote the post I created a thread out of ... please go back and read the post! Just because you pray for a person, doesn’t mean you are condemning them. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.