I love 1 Corinthians 10:21: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God". I love how we're encouraged to do all things in such a way as a spotlight is shone on the all powerful, loving and sufficient Jesus Christ. But how do we do that in the ordinary, everyday. How do we do "whatever we do" to the glory of God? How do we display the majesty and splendour of God and his amazing grace in all we do?
What about golf for example? Surely this must be included in the "whatever you do" so how can those who like to have "a good walk spoiled"(!) play to the glory of God. If you play or you're friends with someone who does let me encourage you with this article that I read recently by David Mathis. But as you read be thinking how the principles here might apply to other activities so that we might "do it all for the glory of God".
The game of golf has
tied itself to the beauty of God’s created world like few other competitive
pastimes. This is at the heart of the sport’s allure. With no standardized
playing area, the designers and groundskeepers are commissioned to nest the
course in the splendor of the natural terrain. “The heavens declare the glory
of God,” says Psalm 19:1, and the best of links do the same, if you have eyes
to see it.
But enjoying creation is one thing, and giving
hours on end to playing a game can be quite another. We may be able to drink
orange juice to the glory of God, but what about playing golf?
Hazards on
the Links
Those of us who might defend our annual
watching of the Masters, and playing eighteen every so often, should be swift
to acknowledge that the game is not without its spiritual dangers. If we are to
play golf to the glory of God, we must beware the aspects of the game that
appeal so strongly to our indwelling sin, and our deep yearning for the new
creation before it’s time.
Time Consumption. It’s not arbitrary that “golf widow” is a
popularly understood term. A single round of golf can quickly consume half a
day or more. And it takes an extraordinary amount of time not only to play the
game, but to hone the skills, and keep them sharp. This, in itself, is not
evil, but Christians will want to wisely assess the time demands, in view of
what’s at stake in this “mist” of our lives (James 4:14) and our summons to
“make the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).
Eternity may give us endless days for feasting in the joys of golf, but for now,
we have only tastes.
Expense. Clubs, balls, shoes, bag, apparel, greens fees, club dues, cart
fees, and more. Golf is a rich man’s game, and it’s worth approaching this
aspect of the sport with Christian conviction. We have been rescued from the
world’s patterns of wealth by a Savior who guides us not to lay up treasures on
earth (Matthew 6:19). We put our hope in God, “who richly provides us with
everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17), and tells us the enjoyment is richest
not when it’s hoarded, but used to bless others — “to do good, to be rich in
good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for
themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of
that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:18–19).
Addiction. Those who know golf best can testify to how
hooking it can be. You rarely ever hit what feels like the perfect shot, but
when you do, that’s what you remember most, and has you itching for another
round as soon as possible. And unlike team sports that require other people to
play, golf is especially individualistic; you can scratch the itch anytime
without need of a companion. But the Christian who enjoys golf will say with
the apostle Paul, “I will not be enslaved by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
Golf to the
Glory of God
Conscious, then, of these hazards, and more,
how might we keep it in the fairway and enjoy such a game in a distinctly
Christian fashion? Here are four ways, among others, to make the most of golf
for our enduring joy, the good of others, and the glory of God.
1. Enjoy
God in His Creation
Such is the allure of the Masters, and the
game in general. Golf affords a ripe opportunity to experience the beauty of
God’s creation, cultivated with skill and meticulous care by his image-bearers.
For the born-again believer, freed by the Spirit from suppressing the truth of
God’s eternal power and divine nature plainly on display in creation (Romans
1:18–20), golf can be an awe-inspiring and worship-fostering experience (though
no replacement for corporate worship!). Pray before hitting the links,
sanctifying the experience to Christ, and make a conscious effort to take in
the bigness and beauty of your surroundings and not get lost in the scorecard.
Thank God for his beauty on display in the course.
2. Rest,
Recreate, and Exercise
Golf may be, as some say, “a good walk
spoiled,” but it does make for a good walk. Too often motorized carts keep us
from enduring the exhilarating exercise that is walking eighteen holes with a
bag of fourteen clubs on your back. As for rest and recreation, God blessed the
seventh day and made it holy (Genesis 2:3). They are his design and gift, and
when we keep our play in proportion, he smiles upon our acknowledgement that we
are not God and need not uphold the universe with our unrelenting labors. He
means for us to work earnestly, as to him (Ephesians 6:7), and has purpose in
our faith-filled leisure as well.
3. Make It
a Medium for Relationship
One way to redeem the time-consuming aspect of
golf is meaningful conversation. Whether it’s speaking good news to a fellow
saint or sharing what truly matters with an unbeliever, few pastimes unfold at
such a pace that substantive interaction can occur during the contest. This is
one of the key ways that golf can be made useful for the good of our neighbor.
Be intentional about who you play with, and what you say.
4. Learn to
Deal with Failure
One day, there will be no more failure, only
victory. But until then, we limp from one mistake to another, from bogey to
double bogey — and golf, like baseball, is a greenhouse for learning to deal
with failure. Even the pros rarely hit a shot exactly as they hoped — how much
more does golf force us amateurs to reckon with our failures and deal with
disappointment?
Alongside exploring the attributes of God, the
doctrines of grace, and the doctrine of sin, C.J. Mahaney gives this practical
counsel for cultivating humility: “play as much golf as possible.”
In my athletic experience, I don’t think
there’s a more difficult or more humbling sport. Rather, make that humiliating — because if you play
at all, you know all about those shots that result in laughter from your
partners and humiliation for you. No one escapes them — not even Tiger Woods,
and certainly not me. (Humility, 94)
We Christians should be the people in the
world least afraid of failing. We have a champion who has succeeded for us
definitively in all the ways that matter most. Our ongoing sins and miscues are
relativized by our union with a victor so great that he frees us to find
recreation and humility where others drown in idolatry and pride. The grace of
God is deep enough, and the work of Christ is comprehensive enough, that we
might even play golf to the glory of God.
