For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. (James 1:3-4, NLT)
Phrases I find myself saying way too often on the golf course are, “That was stupid!” or “What was I thinking?” I say these things because I’m managing my game poorly by being too aggressive or trying to pull off a low percentage shot by not weighing the future outcome enough. If I’m being honest, I’d have to say that in the moment the decisions feel right. But immediately after they backfire (which happens way too often), I realize the stupidity of my choice. In the grand scheme of things it’s just a game; but this game means a lot to those playing it competitively, and the way we win in golf is by shooting good scores, not by pulling off spectacular shots.
If you were my sports psychologist (and writing this makes me think I probably should have one!), how would you diagnose my problem? You easily can see from the outside looking in that my appetite for pulling off great shots is greater than my ability to reason when lured by the temptation. You’d probably just say that I need to be more disciplined and exercise more self-control. So we all agree that each time I make these “stupid decisions,” it is because for a moment I am deceived to believe that the pleasure of pulling off the great shot is greater than the future misery of the probable disastrous outcome.
This is why Jean Van De Velde’s name is not on the Claret Jug or Phil Mickelson’s on the U.S. Open trophy, and why we do not refer to the Israelites as the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Esau. That may seem like quite a jump, but many of you know the story in Genesis 25 where Esau sold away his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of stew in order to satisfy his appetite. Yeah, that was stupid! But what appetites are you giving into that anyone looking on from the outside would say, “What are you thinking?” Unfortunately, until you go through with it and temporarily satisfy that appetite, you’re not seeing the destruction lying ahead.
Appetites come in many forms: the desire to be right, to win, to be respected or loved, to have more stuff, nicer stuff, or new stuff, to achieve, to be envied, or simply to be liked. The problem with appetites is that in and of themselves they’re not necessarily bad. In fact, God created them; tragically, sin distorted them. Because of that, our appetites are never fully and finally satisfied and always craving more. Oh, and one other thing: they always whisper “NOW,” never “later.” It is when we give into our appetites that we give the devil a foothold in our lives and the world around us the opportunity to beat us up over our decisions.
There are really only two outcomes for appetites: they rule you or you rule them. Think about what God could do through your life if you simply put into practice the habit of thinking with the future in mind. Thankfully, God has given us his Spirit to live inside us and defeat the temptation of sin and exercise self-control. So I encourage you to invite God in to help you persevere and delay gratification. In this way, you may receive all the blessings he has in store for you. Like Esau, you have no idea what hangs in the balance of your current decisions or what God wants to do in your life in the future—so don’t be willing to give that away for a bowl of stew!
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Josh Nelson
July 30, 2014
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.