So I was playing golf over the 4th of July weekend with a good friend of mine (who will remain nameless). He happens to be an extremely good golfer. I happen not to be. His score card was a constant stream of pars and birdies. My score card looked like the judge cards from Mary Lou Retton's vault event in the 1984 Olympics (all tens). Eventually my friend had a bad hole (by his standards, not mine). He ended up throwing his hat out of frustration.
I was thinking about the event on my way home and asked myself, "why didn't I throw my hat in frustration? I suck big time". That is when it occurred to me: I don't care enough about the game to get frustrated. I like to play but I am content just to be out there hacking away. I would like to get better but I can't devote the time to it and therefore I am just content with my suckiness. But for my friend, he WANTS to be better. He is a student of the game. He takes notes about how the ball reacted on a certain swing, notes about how the ball ended up on a particular drive so that next time around he is that much smarter. He loves the game and has a DESIRE to get better and it is frustrating when you work hard for something and fall short. The same holds true for our Christian walk. If we DESIRE to walk closer with Jesus, we are going to have moments of frustration. We will be angry with ourselves when we sin because we have a DESIRE to abstain from sin. Have you been frustrated lately? If not, perhaps you are just content with 10's on your scorecard. Being frustrated because of our sin shows that you share the same distain for sin that God does. Are you content with 10's on your scorecard or are you throwing your hat?
I was thinking about the event on my way home and asked myself, "why didn't I throw my hat in frustration? I suck big time". That is when it occurred to me: I don't care enough about the game to get frustrated. I like to play but I am content just to be out there hacking away. I would like to get better but I can't devote the time to it and therefore I am just content with my suckiness. But for my friend, he WANTS to be better. He is a student of the game. He takes notes about how the ball reacted on a certain swing, notes about how the ball ended up on a particular drive so that next time around he is that much smarter. He loves the game and has a DESIRE to get better and it is frustrating when you work hard for something and fall short. The same holds true for our Christian walk. If we DESIRE to walk closer with Jesus, we are going to have moments of frustration. We will be angry with ourselves when we sin because we have a DESIRE to abstain from sin. Have you been frustrated lately? If not, perhaps you are just content with 10's on your scorecard. Being frustrated because of our sin shows that you share the same distain for sin that God does. Are you content with 10's on your scorecard or are you throwing your hat?
