Playing Golf for God's Glory!

My sermon this Sunday on Father's Day will answer the question: "Can we play golf for God's Glory?" The answer, of course is yes because 1 Corinthians 10.31 says: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I love the game of golf and I do want to improve every year. But it is not to be more important that my love for the Lord. The second point of the message is simply: "Remember that golf is just a game". Here are some statements of that point...

Psalm 37.4 says delight yourselves in the Lord. That is command! Isaiah 58.14 says that we will find our joy in the Lord. We are to delight ourselves in the Lord even when that little golf ball refuses to go where we want it. Every golfer will have bad rounds and stretches of weeks where it seems like nothing goes right but it is just a game. ILL--Many years ago, I was with a friend at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and we saw a well-known golf pro hit a bad shot.

It was bad according to his standards. His approach shot to the green wasn't as close to the hole as he visualized. Most of us would be thrilled to be near the green. After he did that, he took his iron and just smashed it on a rock, and then he threw that mangled club into the woods. We were right behind him. I looked where he threw it and I thought, "I wonder if I can fix that!" But he destroyed it.

Well, he lost his temper. And on a professional level, there is a needed intensity in order to compete, but it is still just a game. And there are far more important things in life than golf. ILL--Several years ago after the conclusion of the 1995 Ryder Cup, the American team was beaten by the Europeans. The Americans went in the locker room feeling bad. Then Paul Azinger came into the room.

He is a pro who just recovered from cancer. He told the team: "Guys, this isn so bad. The sun will come up tomorrow. I had cancer." In other words, golf is just a game. It is temporary compared to the glories of eternity. When we die, our clubs stay in the garage or basement.