-An Open Letter To Tiger Woods-

Dear Tiger,

I forgive you. I know that doesn't mean very much coming from some random guy whom you never met and likely never will, but I felt compelled to say it. There are already a number of people with opinions about you statement this morning. Facebook and twitter are in full bloom with comments about your words, many of them questioning your sincerity. I think these people have a lot of audacity in judging the intentions and heart of someone they have never met or discussed the situation with. But just for the record, not only do I forgive you, but I believe you.

You discussed that you felt a certain sense of entitlement to indulge yourself in all the temptations around you because of all your hard work. Wow. That must have been a difficult thing to admit. Not just to your family and friends and the press but to yourself. We've heard story after story of public figures like yourself making mistakes but none of them have had the courage to acknowledge that. So, I thank you for your transparency.

You also mentioned that you somehow forgot that the rules apply to you too. I am in awe of this. Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all felt like this. We've all done things that sent the message that the rules that apply to everyone else don't apply to us. As you have discovered, this attitude is poisonous to us. But at least you had the courage to come out and say it. The acknowledgement that you weren't living according to "the rules" is a step toward healing that most people will never make. Even as they sit back and criticize people like you who's mistakes are tabloid fodder while they continue to hide their deepest secrets to make themselves appear better than the rest of us. Ultimately, it is hurting them as well and that is very sad.

I say all this, Tiger, so that you will know that you still have at least one fan. Not just of your golf game but of you as a person. Did you make some mistakes? Absolutely. There is no question about it. And I don't think you should simply be let off the hook for it. But you are taking steps now that display a high quality of character in my opinion. You have decided to continue to focus on healing yourself and your family rather than return to golf right away. Way to go! I truly hope to see you on the golf course again soon. I want to see you get 19+ majors. You are an amazing golfer who continues to make mind boggling shots when you're out there. Your focus on the course is second to none and it shows on the score cards and the stat sheets. I hope you put that same drive and that same focus now into your marriage, family and personal healing, so that when you do get back into golf, you will be whole again and free from distraction.

Finally, Tiger, I wanted to let you know that I will still point you out as a role model to my children. Not because you're a great golfer. Not because you are best at what you do. And not because you are perfect. But because you are NOT perfect. Because, when faced with your biggest failures, you chose to deal with it head on rather than run. You chose to make your marriage your priority when it would have been easy to simply divorce and continue playing golf. You didn't take the easy road of excess and denial, but the difficult path of healing and restoration. As much as I hate it, my kids are going to make mistakes in their lives. And when they do, I hope they face them with the same raw, gut-wrenching honesty and courage that you are displaying now. Well done Tiger. Well done. You still have at least one fan.

Sincerely,

-John Hall

-The Difficult Work of the Soul-

I know that "sin" isn't a popular word these days. Even in the church though many Christians won't admit it. It seems that in response to the judgmental stereotype that Christians have held in the USA for so long now, many churches have gone to the other extreme and tread lightly on the word or even the concept of "sin." The problem with this is the same as the problem with being hyper-judgmental toward people's sin. Good intentions, poor execution. But I think it's a subject that we can't ignore. Sin is, in fact, what separates us God and therefore needs to be talked about. The idea of trusting Jesus and following Him hinges on our acceptance that we are not perfect. That we have done bad, selfish things. So if we don't treat the subject with the seriousness that it deserves, then we neglect to admit that we need saving. On the other hand, when we harp to much on the sin, we may never feel as if we have been restored to our Creator. It's not like there is a fine line or anything, we're just hyper-sensitive about what we believe and therefore we tend to get a little over zealous. It's how opinions eventually turn into doctrine. Which is scary.

That being said, I want to talk about sin. It's the universal topic when you think about it. It's like breathing. We've all done it pretty much our whole lives. some people don't see it like that. They think you can do whatever you want as long as you don't hurt anyone else. Others don't even have the "as long as you don't hurt anyone else" clause. Some simply figure God will work it all out so when you do bad things, bad things will happen to you. (NOT). And then you have the Christians.

We're a strangely diverse bunch. We have rich people, poor people, Republicans, Democrats, independents, businessmen, farmer, white collar, blue collar, and I could keep going. But just like everyone else, all of us have, and continue to, sin. Our response to our sin however, can be totally different. Some of us ignore it. Some of us try to hide it. Some of us beat ourselves to death for it. Some of us carry the guilt around for years. Still others of us say a quick, "Hey God. Sorry about that. Amen." type of prayer and never think about it again. No matter which of these you may be, there is an issue here that is bigger. We're not being saved from our sin. In fact, we often don't want to be.

I am learning that there is a difference between being saved from my sin, (which is what Jesus came to do) (Matthew 1:21), and simply being saved from the penalty of my sin. The penalty of my sin is death, (Romans 6:23), but God loves me so much that he has given me an opportunity to have eternal life, (John 3:16), but He doesn't want me to stop there. He's happy to extend the opportunity to have eternal life to me, but He wants so much more for me. He wants me to be saved from the very thing that causes my separation from Him. The sin itself.

God will forgive us over and over and over again if that's what it takes. As long as we are genuine in our desire to be forgiven He will forgive. But what he really wants is for us to become who we were created to be. People who live and work and laugh and love and cry and who's hearts break with HIS. He wants to close that gap that our sin creates not just be getting rid of the penalty but by getting rid of the sin itself. Sadly, we rarely let Him do this work. Because this would require full submission to Him. We can fake our way through life with other enough to make it look like we have our crap together so don't do the hard, difficult work of the soul it takes to be saved from our sin. I am learning that this work is not popular because it hurts. I'm learning that coming face to face with how selfish I have actually been living is humbling. I'm learning that being saved from my sin is humiliating sometimes. But I am also learning that unless I go through it, I'll never be the person God made me to be. I'm also learning that the life I am headed into by doing the difficult work of the soul is the abundant life that Jesus talked about. I'm learning that living the way of Jesus is even harder than I thought. But taking up your cross was never a pleasant picture. So i can't blame Jesus for sugar-coating it. He simply didn't.

I don't have all the answers. It's a long, hard road to travel and the road is different for everyone. So as much as I wish I could give you the steps to take to do the difficult work of the soul, I just can't. all I can say is that it begins with asking God to help you love him more. Help you follow him more closely. Help you know Him better. Because the more you love God, the closer you get to Him, and the better you know Him; the more like Him you will become. And that is what will save you from your sin, and not just from the penalty of it.