By Jim Denison
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all my heart.” With these now-famous words, Tiger Woods responded to the allegations of extra-marital affairs that dominated the news in the weeks before Christmas. His website posting of Dec. 2 was his first major public word on the scandal, which has engulfed his life and career. He continued: “I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family.”
You’ve read or heard the reports of numerous affairs. Rumors and gossip persist regarding the state and future of his marriage and career. Woods has taken an “indefinite” leave from golf. Despite his statement that “personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions,” media attention is only escalating. Newsweek featured him for its December 21 cover story. When you look back over the news stories of 2009, Tiger Woods will come quickly to mind.
The reason is simple: Scandal sells. Tiger Woods is the world’s best-known athlete. Who is the greatest football player today? The best player in baseball or basketball or hockey? Now name the best golfer. Woods is the first billion-dollar athlete in history. His career is the stuff of legend. And now his personal life, so zealously protected over the years (his yacht is named “Privacy”), is part of his story.
What does God’s Word say about that story?
First, it is my story as well. I have not committed Tiger Woods’ sins, but I’m sure he has not committed some of mine. Scripture is clear: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). In the famous words of John Bradford (the English martyr who died in the year 1555), “There but for the grace of God go I.”
Second, private sin isn’t. When we reject the Word and will of God, our sins don’t stay secret. A late-night driving accident unraveled Mr. Woods’ carefully-guarded private life. Mighty King David was exposed by a single courageous prophet. As Moses warned Israel, “your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23).
Third, actions produce consequences. When we sin against God, others are always hurt. God can forgive, but the results endure. When you hammer a nail into a two-by-four, someone else can remove the nail — but the hole remains. Sin will always take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay. Always.
Last, grace triumphs over guilt. Jesus came at Christmas to die for our sins and purchase our salvation. When we confess our sins to God, whatever they are, “he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Then he will remove our sins from us “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps. 103:12) and “hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Our Father promises, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jer. 31:34). This is the gospel of God’s grace.
As you look back over the year nearly gone, what regrets come to mind? Name them, honestly and specifically. Confess them individually to God. Rejoice in his cleansing mercy. Then the next time guilt attacks, claim God’s forgiving love. You may need to declare grace over guilt 100 times today and 90 times tomorrow, but grace will eventually triumph and peace will be yours.
One of my favorite hymns begins, “Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt….” It concludes: “Grace, grace, God’s grace / Grace that will pardon and cleanse within / Grace, grace, God’s grace / Grace that is greater than all our sin.”
Do you need to sing that hymn today?