Dads, divots and devotion

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One of my favorite sports is the game of golf. In the days approaching Father’s Day ever year, my thoughts turn specifically to the game of golf.

It is one of my favorite pastimes, and I attribute that largely to the fact that golf is the one game that my Dad and I experienced, and for the most part enjoyed, together. Golf can be extremely satisfying and gratifying in one moment, and one of the most frustrating games a person can ever play in the next.

Since moving to the Sunshine State (where it is raining right now!), I have found much more enjoyment in the game. What’s more, my bride has taken up the sport and loves it!

There are a few reasons why I enjoy this game:

1. It takes time. Golf for me is a mini-vacation. I can spend a couple of hours out on the golf course, or even at the driving range, and my thoughts are centered on “the next shot,” not on anything else. I can be totally consumed with the game and all that I must do to play it better.

Many people have given up playing golf for exactly that reason – it takes, for them, too much time! But for me that mini-vacation is a powerfully refreshing time no matter what the scorecard says.

2. It requires mental toughness. Now most sports require mental toughness, but when a person is not doing well in other sports, he must bear down physically as well as mentally. In golf, when a person bears down physically, he will perform even more poorly.

Golf is a game where the more relaxed physically you are AND the more mentally tough you are, the better you will play. Have you ever noticed, in watching the pro golfers on television or wherever, how seemingly easy they swing at the ball? And how far it goes? They have learned to be physically relaxed but mentally tough.

3. It rewards togetherness. There are several sports that you can enjoy alone. Golf is one of them, but the rewards for playing this game together with others are tremendous.

The last thing I remember my father and I doing together was playing golf. He enjoyed it immensely, and that afternoon over 40 years ago still stands out in my mind as one of the best times I ever spent with him. He just about wore me out!

This summer my son and I, my brother and I, my bride and I, and yes, even my granddaughter and I have enjoyed the game of golf TOGETHER. Whether standing on the tee preparing to hit that little white dimpled ball out into the “wild, blue yonder” or walking down the fairway, or lining up putts, or, yes, even looking for balls in high weeds and deep forests (been there, done that!), being with friends and family is one way to grow and be accountable and enjoy the game as well.

Someone once said that “sport imitates life.” And in this case, I believe that is true, for those three principles are very important for each of us in our daily lives, and our relationship with God.

Our relationship with God, to be growing, and to be effective, takes TIME. We cannot expect to develop a growing, intimate, and personal relationship with God by simply giving Him the leftovers of our day — a few morsels of time here and there, a few minutes of our week, month, or even year. An individual cannot truthfully say that he loves God and never spend any time with Him.

One cannot declare that her relationship with Christ is a priority relationship and yet never spend any time in Christ’s Word, the Bible, and the only time she prays is when there is an “emergency.” Then when God does not answer the prayer just the way she prayed, she gets mad at God for not caring!

Our relationship with God requires time. One cannot read the psalms without seeing that the psalmist spent a lot of time with God – morning, evening, at meal times, at play, at war, in times of prosperity and in times of trial – he saw his relationship as God as something of value and something worthy of investing time in.

A relationship with God also requires mental TOUGHNESS. God doesn’t want us to simply say “yes” to him in some sort of computerized, cookie-cutter mentality. But He does want us to respond with our minds to His Word in such a way that we are desiring to OBEY Him.

But I must tell you that the harder I try to obey Him, the more difficult it becomes to actually do so.

Like the game of golf, though, the more we relax in His arms, the more effective we will be. And to relax in the arms of the Lord, especially when the world around you is telling you to bear down and try harder, takes mental and spiritual toughness.

And last, a relationship with God rewards TOGETHERNESS. Both through corporate worship, and through personal accountability that keeps us intent on concentrating on that relationship with Him, we discover that a relationship with God is an endeavor in spiritual teamwork. Proverbs 27:17 declares that “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

Our relationship with God was not meant to be done in isolation but in concert with two or three or even a bunch of ther like-minded believers.

The Apostle Paul said it best when he stated, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1).

And just like golf, that act of worship require TIME, TOUGHNESS, and TOGETHERNESS. So, hit ‘em straight and long this week, will ya?

And if you can, spend some time with your Dad!

Happy Father’s Day!

God bless …

Chuck Tabor is a regular columnist for the Times-Gazette and the News Journal. He is also the former Pastor of Port William UMC.

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Chuck Tabor

Contributing columnist

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