We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5, NIV)
The luckiest people in golf may be those who live in a small town with only one course for miles around. You might think that’s not so good in terms of supply-and-demand pricing or competition-driven excellence, and you’d have a point. But consider: If there is only one small course in your little town, there is probably only one golf professional to help you with your game.
The ideas and philosophies you hear as you go through your day emerge from a hundred places.In many ways variety and choice are a good thing. But when you’re trying to learn a game as confounding as golf, too much input can lead to all sorts of confusion. Should I swing inside-out or outside-in? Choke down or choke up? One plane or two? Should I use a conventional grip when I’m putting, or go cross-handed, or employ the claw? It doesn’t take long to turn into a second-guesser, unsure how to play even the simplest shots.
But if you have one teacher, you are free to trust fully in what you are being taught. Conviction and confidence, as we have seen in players like Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson, can bring as much success as a thorough hunt to find one’s golfing self and develop the perfect swing.
When we consider the ways of the world, we might say this: They are many. The ideas and philosophies you hear as you go through your day emerge from a hundred places: co-workers, grandmas, country music singers, Twitter-savvy millennials, newsmakers and news reporters, billboards, greeting cards, cranky neighbors and kind ones, professors, bank tellers, radio DJs. Keep adding to the list and you won’t exhaust it today.
Because of this onslaught, two questions result, How do I sort through all this input? How do I know what to believe?
The apostle Paul established for the Corinthians that there are plenty of bad ideas in the world—ideas that misrepresent and challenge God and the gospel. We can’t do nothing about these. We must confront (and demolish!) false teaching, even when it’s voiced by the tamest of sources. We must govern our thoughts singularly, giving ground only to Jesus, freely trusting that what he has told us is right, and going forward with conviction and confidence that this is so.
—
Jeff Hopper
May 25, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Street Wise 2: Who’s in heaven?
Street Wise 3: Is sincerity enough?
Street Wise 4: Trusting the Bible
Street Wise 5: Golf in heaven
Street Wise 6: Thoughts and prayers
Street Wise 7: Christ and freedom