This is not about golf ...yet, we must at times assess what course we are on.
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I am a bit disturbed by the course I see our nation as a whole is on ...but, shouldn't I be? I see the view of 'right and wrong' to be changing, and I don't see it as a good change.
There are several types of right and wrong, but I am only going to mention two.
The first category of mention is: It is wrong because it 'is' wrong.
The second category I'm choosing is: It is wrong because the government says it is wrong.
In the beginning, God was serving as both the judge of what was wrong, and He was also welcomed as our lawgiver, or government. That changed when God's people asked the last of their judges, Samuel, for permission to have a king. It would seem they were not wanting to be led by God, but in similar fashion to the world ...in essence, being led by the world.
During Jesus' ministry on earth, we recall His disciples being told to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. Does that mean that things changed with Jesus? No!! He did not ask them to worship Caesar, but to render unto him, the government, that which is the government's business.
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Let's go back to rules, guidelines, or laws. It is not morally wrong to eat the fruit off a tree, unless it is not your tree ...then it would be considered stealing. And if something is offered you, then that does not mean you are entitled to anything else your imagination wants or desires.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were very generously given all that surrounded them, except one tree. But, they also wanted what they were not given ...what they were told they clearly could not have. The fact that they took it, seems clearly to be wrong.
Then came an event that was also clearly wrong ...with a son of Adam and Eve. Cain killed Abel. How can anyone say that was not wrong?
After that, generations passed with much that we know little about. Details are not given to what was said, " ...the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." This was during the time of Noah, and our minds can not help but flood with all sorts of emotions ...but we know little details of this 'imagination'.
More generations passed, and a plan erected for a tower to be built. God said, "The people are one, and they all have one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."
I don't know what these 'imaginations' were ...but I don't imagine they were good. Why do I say that? I say that because I trust God when He says they were wicked and evil ...and I trust Him when He says it is not a good thing that they are all talking the same way, or the same language. Neither do I believe just in sound bites of today's language of how they all talk the same. I believe in God's character ...and I believe something is wrong because God says so.
I don't see anything wrong with building, and speaking the same language, or different languages ...but God should be at the center of our thoughts and actions, not ourselves. We are not saved by acts of goodness, nor are we condemned by any given act. God forgives me more quickly than I forgive myself. God knows us better than we know ourselves ...and God wants us to follow Him, as he sees what we don't see, and what is the progression away from Him.
Obedience to God, keeps us close to Him. If we stray from His ways, we have no idea what snares await us. And the worst of those snares are the ones which trap us without us even knowing we had ever even entered a trap. Out of loving mercy, God gives us guidelines to follow to steer away from unknown dangers. But, just like in the Garden of Eden, not knowing the intent often is enough to tempt us. We can learn from others' mistakes ...but we seem often to favor finding out for ourselves.
We may expect that we are intelligent enough to know for ourselves when we are in error, and correct our own path. But, explain this to me: If clearly Cain killing Abel was wrong; where do we find ourselves today. It is not only an isolated few who are 'tweeting' murder as a heroic act. And just listen to your own rationale. How many of you say an ex-California cop was unjustly dismissed from the force ...and therefore his campaign is not only justified, but celebrated? How does a hero behave? I always thought a hero saved lives. I always thought a hero endured what many of us can't endure, and heroes had the ability to take the heat and still act with good character. When does a hero kill ...to save a life? Does a hero have a low tolerance and get angry? Does a hero get angry and kill, then continue to seek revenge against those not even involved? Does a hero kill the innocent daughter of the one he feels failed him in an appeal? Look closely at what is being said. It did not just start here, with viewing the man's daughter as property, and therefore part of his justification ...haven't we for a long time now been saying that a child is part of a person's property to freely do what is chosen to be done, mostly unborn ---but now unwed. Of course, her fiancee was killed too ...and with full knowledge of that, he is not considered a sick man, nor one driven with rage and revenge ---but a hero?
Let me go back to the real pattern of correcting a wrong. There was a man named Saul, who had a list of people he thought should die too. He also had a following. I don't know how well his followers thought of him while he helped orchestrate many killings. But, more confusing may be what they thought of him when he had a conversion, and went by the name of 'Paul'. The apostle Paul did not have to have rocks thrown at him to the point of almost dying, to earn his salvation ...though it may have been that very thing that convinced others of his sincere and genuine conversion. He understood God's forgiveness ...but he also understood the importance of God's ways and right living. He understood his own sin ...admitted to it, and repented of it ---and encouraged others to repent of theirs. This is where forgiveness is found.
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In golf, there has to be a marker for us to know what we are shooting for. It is not about gun control ...it's about self-control. It's about admitting sin, repenting of the wrong, and aiming at a new life. Don't look for someone to caddie around with your ideologies; put down your clubs. Don't keep your eye on the ball ...keep it on the Lord. Of course, there are things that do hold some similarities. It does help to keep our head straight!!
