Enjoying the Failure of Others - Tiger Woods

Feels funny doesn't it? To admit we enjoy it when the lives of other people, like Tiger, blow up is a needed confession. We need to be more self-aware. And notice how much more we enjoy it when people not like us are exposed. Rich people, other races and cultures, talented people . . . As we enjoy the failure of others in a strange way we feel superior.

We feel superior because we need to . . . that is the bottom line. We have to get self-worth from somewhere, right? We have to get some reassurance that in spite of our hollowness there is something right about us. Please, dear God, there is something right about us . . . right, please?

People do crazy things. I am not talking about skydiving here either. People make stupid choices. If you really tried to find out what they (we) were thinking you would discover the problem. They probably were not thinking. Tiger lived a double life for who knows how many years. There are a lot of people hoping he fails this weekend in Augusta. Others hope he fails at life. I don't.

Is Tiger on the road to recovery? Who knows? Am I? That is the most responsible question that I can consider today. Maybe you too. Go Tiger.

Tiger is a Hacker

I did not realize I had Tiger Woods on such a pedestal until he disappointed me. As a golfer I am quite a hacker (if you have ever spent nine with me, you know I am not overstating here). But I always admired golfers. I would drop almost anything, even a grandson, to watch Tiger play on T.V. His story was (is) so compelling. His dad, his unprecedented success, etc. He played with the greatest golfers in the world for years. No one has come close to matching his overall performance.

I don't know the history of the term hacker. I think it came from the sound effects of my golf game. If you play with real golfers or notice golf on T.V. you know it sounds different when they play. A sweet, whistling movement of wind, followed by a solid click happened when Tiger swung. When I swing it sounds and looks like I am clearing brush from a vacant lot with an axe.

The term hacker has never been used to describe Tiger. Yet today when it comes to playing life he is hacking his way down the fairway. Yep, Tiger is a hacker. But Tiger is not alone. The Bible is filled with stories of hackers. King David was a hacker. Wise King Solomon was a hacker. The woman at the well was a hacker. Wow, Tiger fits right in -- In fact if you find a church today that is really alive you will find a bunch of hackers who discovered Jesus Christ in the middle of their back swings.

Every time I read another confession from a woman in Tiger's past I feel ashamed and sad for him. I am sure they represent many more. The late Wilt Chamberlin, an NBA legend, claimed to have slept with 20,000 women. Probably a bit overstated by Wilt. He did seem more proud than ashamed.

I wonder how Tiger feels right now? I am sure he feels stupid for getting caught. There is a place of love and forgiveness for him (you too) if he wants it. I don't think the place is with Elin or most golfers on the PGA (except John Daily). The media has too much fun with this one to let it go. Tiger has no place to run to but a cross. A place for hackers.

What Scares Us About Tiger?

I feel like I always take the side of people who fail. Not because failures need my advocacy. Neither is it because I struggle deciding between right and wrong. People who fail give us a false sense of security. We really don't need that kind of security.

When other people fail it brings out the worst in us. I am talking about we religious people. We fail at a alarmingly similar rates as the irreligious or other religious. I am embarrassed. We don't have a flawed Gospel, or a erroneous Savior - but we are flawed and erroneous people. For every Tiger -- there is a Ted Haggard (metaphorically speaking). Why do we insist on using every moral debacle as an opportunity to validate we are right about something? Are we afraid deep down inside that we are not right? Does some Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods, Barney Madoff story give us a sense of relief about our own doubts and short comings?

The Pharisees from Bible days provide perspective beyond a huff, blow, and head shake. They were underrated you know. They lived a standard of righteousness beyond what we could do. Funny that we spend a lot of time feeling superior to them. Jesus accused the Pharisees of being empty. They felt superior to people like Tiger Woods. If they were living so well why did they feel the need to feel so superior? Jesus said it . . . because they were right on the outside but wrong on the inside.

Do you think Tiger wasted a lot of energy laughing a bad golfers? I doubt it. If Tiger needed affirmation he could look at his trophy case or most recent scorecard. He did not have to be entertained by me hacking my way down the 18th fairway at Oak Hills Golf Club in Columbia. Neither should I be entertained by him hacking at life. I should look at my own scorecard. That is where the analogy breaks down. I would rather look at his.

Our faith in Christ should make us moral people. Other people's failures, however, should never make us feel good about ourselves. Grace should make us patient and slow to enjoy the failures of others. Dave Crowder described it this way:

And we are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,

If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.

If I am drowning in grace then I don't have time to enjoy those who are not. Tiger is one step away from drowning in grace himself. Yes, the step is long, but with his credentials (as with all of us), he is out of options.