Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth…. you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:5-10, ESV)
The game of golf has an uncanny ability to reveal our attitudes, and when you play the game on the public stage in front of millions of TV viewers, there is no place to hide. Just ask Jon Rahm, who is transforming himself in real time by adjusting not just his actions, but his attitude.
Are you enjoyable off the course but not on it? Are you enjoyable at work but not at home, or the other way around? How are you in a traffic jam when you’re running late?Writing in Global Golf Post, John Hopkins eloquently took the young Spaniard to task. This past April Hopkins wrote, “Too often in his short, dazzling career… he has demonstrated character aspects that do not display him, or the gentlemanly game of golf, so favorably.”
This month Hopkins wrote: “Fast forward to last week in St. Louis where, in his 10th major championship, Rahm revealed a changed attitude.” And if you watched him at the US Open, you saw it, too. Several opportunities to display anger and spew obscene talk presented themselves to Rahm early in the final round, and he held on to that changed attitude with a firm grip. True, there was an outburst on seventeen, but it was short-lived. He’s still growing.
Imagine a cadre of reporters watching you live your life. Would they write that your character aspects do not display you, or Christianity, in a good way? Does your behavior, on or off the golf course, reflect the first or last section of the verses above?
I was having lunch with a friend recently and we were discussing this very topic. He said he doesn’t even like to play golf with one of his buddies because his attitude on the course is so poor. “So I enjoy him off the course, and just don’t play golf with him.”
What about you? Are you enjoyable off the course but not on it? Are you enjoyable at work but not at home, or the other way around? How are you in a traffic jam when you’re running late?
If you need an attitude adjustment (and we all do now and then), listen to Paul one more time: “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him” (Colossians 5:10, NLT).
Jon Rahm is growing into a better Jon Rahm, and that’s great. You and I can grow to be like Jesus, and that is greater still.
—
Lewis Greer
August 22, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.