“Who is a teacher like him?” (Job 36:22, NLT)
In today’s world of golf, most tour professionals have a teacher. Indeed, anyone wanting to improve their golf game should find a teacher. (All the PGA teaching professionals reading this are saying, “Amen!”)
But the Bible warns, “Beware false teachers.” When I was 19, I had never had a golf lesson. A false teacher saw me and offered a free lesson. He showed me “Square to Square.” I had the semi-shanks for a year. Teachers are good, but be careful.
Now, 50 years later, I have decided that the 5-iron is my “Teacher.” Let me explain.
I go to the range to warm up. I hit some wedges and think, OK, I can still play. I move onto the short irons, continuing the thought, Not bad. My mind continues the charade that I am a pretty good player. The short irons are false teachers.
But eventually I get to the 6-iron. Chinks in the armor begin to show. A toe job hooks left. A semi-chunk goes right. Only one in three is a decent strike. The 6-iron is John the Baptist, preparing the way for the real Teacher, Mr. 5-Iron.
Only Mr. 5-Iron teaches me the Truth about my swing and who I really am. If I can hit three good five irons in a row—squarely in the right direction on the right trajectory—then I know I am ready. It never happens, because my Teacher screams out that I have a lot of work to do. “You can’t handle the Truth,” says the former mashie, mocking me most days.
He left the 5-iron and went back to his comfortable wedges, where he could pretend that he was indeed good enough.Sometimes, not wanting to truly know the Truth, I skip Mr. 5-Iron and go to the comfort of the Hybrids, which lure me into thinking that my swing is good. The ball gets airborne and solid on a nice line. Mr. Hybrid feels so safe and nice.
So, what’s the point?
Most Christians do not really want a teacher. They do not really want to get better, to be challenged, to fix problems that have lain dormant for years. They prefer the easy way.
So, do you have a teacher?
Most believers would claim Jesus himself as their Teacher, but is he really?
The rich young ruler, who would have been a member of the finest country club, called Jesus “teacher.” He asked “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” The young man didn’t like Jesus’ answer, so “he went away sad” (Matthew 19:22).
In golf language, he left the 5-iron and went back to his comfortable wedges, where he could pretend that he was indeed good enough.
The answer of course is to allow God to speak into the most difficult areas of your life. He is the ultimate Teacher who wants to dig deep and show you who you really are.
Psalm 139 offers a pattern: “Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you…” (Psalm 139:23-24). King David, for all his faults, was willing to invite the Teacher into his life to reveal the depths of his weakness. We do well to follow his example and his Teacher!
—
Tim Philpot
January 15, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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