I was golfing the other day and got into a difficult situation. Playing very poorly, I needed to put together a very good hole to redeem myself. The pressure was on. Fortunately I was wearing my WWTD bracelet - "What Would Tiger Do?" What a relief...if it wasn't for the bracelet I would have totally messed up the whole hole!!! But because I was reminded by the bracelet - I ripped a 350 yard drive right down the gut of the fairway, stuck a 4-iron to the heart of the green and snaked in a 20 foot putt for Eagle. Do you know why? That is what Tiger would do! WWTD baby!!!
Ha, ha! If only it was this simple. Of course my problem in golf is NOT that I FORGET what to do, it is that I CAN'T do it! Why? I'm not Tiger! What makes Tiger a miraculous player in difficult situations is not what he does at that moment - it is what he had been doing in nearly every moment before that, PRACTICING GOLF! Tiger lives in total surrender and submission to golf, and it shows, it makes a difference when the chips are down - it is not magic, Tiger has been transformed by what he was willing to suffer (the grueling practices, forfeiting other activities etc...).
The "What Would Jesus Do" bracelets have all but disappeared, and for the few of you who took this sincere idea to the ultimate limit in the form of a tatoo, I ask for your forgiveness in advance. But as I have been thinking about spiritual formation of late I have been struck by a flaw in the WWJD approach to the life of faith. See, my problem isn't forgetfulness - certainly, I am forgetful, but, it is only the beginning or a symptom of my larger problem which is, I'm FALLEN, I'm not as "good" as I need to be, as life requires. I'm fallen and I can't get up!
Believe it or not, there are times when I remember what Jesus did and know what he would do in a given situation, and it is CLEAR to me what I should do - but I don't do it. Why? I'm not Jesus! And I need much more than a reminder to become like Jesus, I need to be transformed. Tiger puts himself in a place to be transformed, I must do the same. Of course the comparison breaks down because Tiger is achieving in high pressure situations based on his talent and sweat, I, on the other hand, can do what Jesus did ONLY through God's grace. However, I still need to do something to be transformed, live in submission and surrender to God - I need to put myself in the place of grace...prayer, study, worship, community, service etc... also known as the spiritual disciplines. I can't do what Jesus did when the chips are down ("just do it"), without doing what Jesus did BEFORE the chips are down. As a Christian I am called to the "obedience that comes from faith" (Rm. 1:5) and if Jesus had to "learn" obedience (Heb. 5:8) through suffering then it wasn't magic, and maybe I will have to as well.
Islam holds that mankind's problem is forgetfulness, that's our hole. Christianity disagrees - we are fallen, as in broken, shattered - WAY beyond reminding. If Islam is right, wearing the right bracelet could save the world, we can redeem ourselves!! Abracadabra! If Christianity is right, wearing a bracelet won't make a difference if we're not carrying a cross - His Cross...OUR Cross, willing to suffer in order to obey.
We have to put together our whole hole because it is going to take more than a magical reminder to save par.
Fore!!!!
Didymus
Very nice Didy, I hadn't thought about it like that. I like your analogy--especially the 'putting in the practice' theme. It would be interesting to learn where are 'time on the driving range' of prayer, study, etc. fits in with the 'transformation by Christ in us'. If we are prepared before by the Spirit in us and transforming us in greater amounts somehow connected to the amount of time we pray and read our Bible (and other such activities), then there is a Tiger-like component. We give up time at other activities, we train our bodies--and minds--and we react properly when the pressure shot (temptation) arrives.
Posted by: Thomas More | July 26, 2008 at 07:50 AM