Eldrick Tont Woods, better known as Tiger Woods, became a professional golfer in 1996. By the end of April 1997, he had won three major golf tournaments including the Masters on this day in 1997. Woods became the youngest champion by two years and won the Masters by a record breaking 12 strokes. Woods was on the fast track for greatness. By June 1997, Woods was considered the best golfer in the world.
“In 2000, Woods found himself at the hands of the largest endorsement an athlete had ever signed at the time with a five-year, $105 million contract extension with Nike. According to Forbes, in 2015 Woods also held the No. 1 spot on a list of athletes who have made the most money over the past 10 years with $845 million, with a high of $115 million in 2008 alone.”1
Woods would enjoy barely a decade of success before his world collapsed.
Beginning in April 2008, troubles began with “arthroscopic surgery to repair the cartilage in his left knee.”2 This was quickly followed by more knee issues. 2009 was the year his infidelity scandals began to be revealed. Nearly a dozen women claimed to be his mistress. Woods checked into a sex addicts rehabilitation program. However, his marriage and family were destroyed and would end in divorce.
With all the scandal, endorsement contracts are withdrawn. “A December 2009 study estimated the shareholder loss caused by Woods’s affairs to be between $5 billion and $12 billion.”3 The rest of Woods’ career can easily be summarized: car crashes, a DUI arrest, back and knee surgeries, failed relationships, and living on the fumes of former fame and ability, occasionally eking out a win without ever regaining the glory of former days.
I write none of this with a judgmental spirit against Woods nor am I trying to besmirch or slander the athlete. My only purpose in sharing the details is to show how easily sin can destroy an individual. I use his story as a warning to my own life as well as all of our lives. As the English evangelical preacher and martyr, John Bradford (circa 1510–1555) was credited as saying, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”4 Please view the rest of the devotional through the lens of that intent.
Solomon knew the devastation of affairs and marriages to multiple women. 1 Kings 11:1-4 says, “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; (2) Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. (3) And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. (4) For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.”
In Proverbs 2:10-11, 16-19, Solomon warned, “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; (11) Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee…(16) To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; (17) Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. (18) For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. (19) None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”
A life of wisdom and accomplishments can be unraveled quickly by torrid affairs. Throughout the Psalms, David laments the physical ailments brought about by his sin, calling it a “loathsome disease” and proclaiming, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.” (Psalms 38:3, 7)
Woods, on the fast track to greatness, began playing under par when sin devastated his life. The example of his life should serve as a great warning to all of us. Again, this is not meant as a slam against Woods. I am not putting the man down. Truly, I feel sorry for him. I can’t imagine the turmoil and shame he must carry with all the crushed hopes and dreams. All I can hope is that he has found forgiveness and salvation in Jesus. A life scuttled by sin can be reclaimed by Jesus.
Should we find ourselves pridefully believing that we aren’t capable of such debauchery, perhaps we should take to heart 1 Corinthians 10:12. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
1https://www.sportingnews.com/us/golf/news/tiger-woods-arrest-dui-back-injury-affair-elin-nordegren-lindsey-vonn-career-majors-pga-tour/1xtp4wqx6ghl21ubnlwz1rnxiu
2https://www.skysports.com/golf/news/12176/12227350/tiger-woods-injury-timeline-surgeries-procedures-and-comebacks-during-his-career
3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Woods#Personal_life
4https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/there-but-for-the-grace-of-god.html#google_vignette
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