Tiger Woods and the grace of Christmas
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all my heart.” With these now-famous words, Tiger Woods has responded to the allegations of extra-marital affairs which have dominated the news this week.His website posting continues: “I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family.”
News reports this morning indicate that he and his wife are doing just that, engaging in intense marriage counseling sessions at their Windemere, Florida mansion. Despite Mr. Woods’ statement that “personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions,” media attention is only escalating.
The reason is simple: Scandal sells. Tiger Woods is the world’s best-known athlete. Who is the greatest football player today? The best player in baseball or basketball or hockey? Now name the best golfer. Mr. Woods will soon be the first billion-dollar athlete in history. His career is the stuff of legend. And now his personal life, so zealously protected over the years (his yacht is named “Privacy”), is part of his story.
What does God’s word say about that story?
First, it is my story as well. I have not committed Tiger Woods’ sins, but I’m sure he has not committed some of mine. Scripture is clear: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In the famous words of John Bradford (English martyr, died 1555), “there but for the grace of God go I.”
Second, private sin isn’t. When we reject the word and will of God, our sins don’t stay secret. As Moses warned Israel, “your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). Others are always hurt. As I have often warned congregations, sin will always take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay. Always.
Third, grace triumphs over guilt. Jesus came at Christmas to die for our sins and purchase our salvation. If shepherds-grimy field hands who could not worship in the synagogue or Temple-could celebrate his birth, so can we. When we confess our sins to God, whatever they are, “he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This is the gospel of God’s grace.
One of my favorite hymns begins, “Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt . . .” It concludes: “Grace, grace, God’s grace / Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; / Grace, grace, God’s grace / Grace that is greater than all our sins.”
Do you need to sing that hymn this morning?
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at 12:27 AM
I read this commentary and appreciate what you had to say. It brings all things into perspective as it relates to a Holy God who wants all of us to confess our sins regardless of what we have done–and receive the work that He has done on our behalf through his grace. May God continue to bless your ministry. I will share this resource with others.