What Tiger Has Taught Us

Over the last few weeks we have witnessed in the life of Tiger Woods that, "whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Gal. 6:7)." All things eventually come to fruition. If one desires to have a good name, raise a family, and continue in marriage he must sow the appropriate seed. If one acts in a ways that threaten the bonds of marriage, those bonds will eventually break. Sowing and reaping, it is a natural occurrence in every aspect of life.

Tiger was once a media darling. He is now fresh meat. In an image driven culture we will not stop being witnesses to this tragedy until we are bored with it or something better comes along. Until that moment comes, the talking heads will feed us all we want. So while this story is fresh I want to pose a question, "What's the message?"

Is the message that our culture is infatuated with the fallen? That is probably true, even more so than my next point, but I think another message in all of this is that in human sexuality and marriage there is a certain absolute moral law that simply can't be broken without consequence. The sages of our time would call us to a humanistic or an atheistic relativity when it comes to truth. But Tiger has taught us, truth is not relative. It is wrong to cheat on your wife. That's the way marriage works for atheists, Christians, Muslims, agnostics, and golfers. Sin comes with consequence whether you shoot under par or not.

Phil Knight, chairman of Nike said about their continued sponsorship of Tiger Woods, ""I think he's been really great. . . When his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip, but the media is making a big deal out of it right now."

There is nothing about this story that is a blip, or minor. What Tiger Woods has done will forever change his relationship with his wife Elin and his children. He may win another Master's title in Nikes, but sin has destroyed his marriage. The media may be making "a big deal" about all of this simply to feed the ratings monster, but unwittingly they have reminded us of another message. Truth is not relative. Marriage and sex create deep bonds in humans. When those bonds are broken there will be tragic consequences. The Bible is very plain about all of this, ironically at this moment, so is ESPN. As we watch the life of Tiger Woods unravel it should call us all back to the sanctity of marriage. We should not crave to hear more, but we should instead mourn for him, for his wife, and for his children. We should evaluate our own actions and repent of those things that will eventually destroy us, and others. You and I may not be front page news, but if we walk in sin it will rip us and our families to shreds. God's Word is true and in a strange ironic twist, ESPN has become God's megaphone. A man will reap what he sows.