“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God.” (Exodus 20:9-10a, NLT)
When caddying in the Pro-Am events on Tour, I have noticed that there is one common thread that runs through the majority of nearly all the mistakes amateurs make in golf. Let’s see if you can pick up on it as I list a few common mistakes?
– the majority of their approach shots come up short
– 90 percent of putts missed are missed low
– players with slices almost always miss their tee shots right (if they’re right-handed)
Do you see it? These, as well as other common mistakes, are simply made because we do not incorporate enough margin in our shots. What do I mean?
Well, let’s say that one time you hit a beautiful 8-iron from 150 yards on a downwind par-3 and it landed right in the middle of the green. Do you hit that 8-iron the next time you have 150 yards in? Many players do, no matter the conditions. Once they’ve done it once, they count on doing it every time. Here’s a mini-lesson: Unless you’re a remarkably consistent player, start adjusting all your distances to allow for an extra club and see if you don’t hit more greens.
Here are a couple more: If you’re missing all your putts low, it’s not that you can’t read greens; it’s that you just are not giving it enough “borrow,” as some say in golf. And if you only hit the ball straight one out of every 10 shots and all the rest fade or slice 10 to 15 yards, just aim 10 to 15 yards left, instead of right at your target. Sure, you’ll miss an occasional shot left due to that dreaded and miraculous straight ball, but the rest of the time you’ll be in the fairway.
It’s clear. Many of us play golf like we live the rest of our life—with little to no margin. We work too much, commit to too much, don’t get enough sleep, spend too much, and definitely don’t have as much as we’d like to give. We don’t have enough time to exercise, or spend with the family, or read our Bible.
Believe it or not, God actually knew you were going to be like this 3500 years ago. You, like me, and like the Israelites of old, have the tendency to live life too close to the edge. Margin is necessary for healthy relationships, because in the margins we grow intimacy in our relationships. It is in the margins where we most often experience God. So it is no wonder that God established for his people areas of margin; he wants his children to budget space for him to be present in their lives.
That’s why God commanded that his children rest on the Sabbath, live on less than 100 percent of their income (giving and saving along the way), let the land rest agriculturally, and that debts be forgotten every few years. God wants the best for you, and he knows how you are, so he established guidelines and principles in his Word for us to live by. These principles are not so we can be more religious; they are there because a close, intimate relationship with your heavenly Father requires margin. Following Jesus requires margin. The greatest commandment requires margin.
If you’re constantly taking life to the limit like you do your golf game, you can’t possibly experience the best that God has for you. And though he warned you about it and doesn’t want you to experience life on the edge, he will let you do it because of his love and the gift of free will. He will even wait until after you have declared bankruptcy, gone through divorce, been estranged from your grown children, or suffered a heart attack—but don’t let that happen! Incorporate margin into your life.
—
Josh Nelson
January 22, 2014
Copyright 2014 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.