Tiger vs. McGwire

Too much going on over the last few weeks to post, though much I wanted to post about … John Stewart vs. Bill O’Reilly, the Tea Party Convention, Elton John’s statement concerning Jesus being gay, global warming supposedly disproved by snow in the winter, etc. … but alas, I was distracted by more important matters such as my wife and my ministry. 

This morning all the major networks, along with numerous minor networks will be carrying a 5 or so minute apology from Tiger Woods for his “transgressions.”   Let me just start by saying, I don’t believe Tiger Woods owes me anything … He owes his wife a confession/apology.  He owes his family a confession/apology.    He owes his sponsors a confession/apology. Most importantly, he owes YHWH a confession/apology… but not me, nor anyone else that I can think of.  

In fact, it is us who owe him an apology.  I find it interesting that Tiger has been vilified for the type of behavior our culture shamelessly promotes … (maybe I’m cynical, but I just assume that a good number of people with fame and opportunity are involved in such things) … and for the Christian, we believe that Christ has exposed our own sin lying within the depths of our hearts.  Certainly, the reality of the indwelling sin of humanity does not excuse Tiger’s acting upon those inclinations. However, being forced to air out his dirty laundry to a people who use his fall to distract from our own failings is just as telling of the depravity within our culture as Tiger’s deviant behavior.  Simply put, my challenge is to resist the temptation to watch this circus.

On the other hand, another public figure who recently confessed his sin, Mark McGwire, does owe me an apology … Tiger’s actions were not directly tied to how he performed on the course, but McGwire’s behavior was.  It is no secret that I love the St. Louis Cardinals.  I actually witnessed the hoax of McGwire tying Roger Maris’ record of 61 HRs in a season in 1998.  I drove to St. Louis.  I paid money for the seat.  And in the aftermath, I regret it.  McGwire, along with the rest of the juiced era, caused extensive to our national past time, and now, after having offering what was either a dishonest or disillusioned apology, only as a means of entering  back into the baseball realm, we are to simply hear the confession and move on.  Pitchers and catchers reported yesterday to Spring Training, and thus baseball has begun again.  However, rather the focus being on what should be a great upcoming season for my St. Louis Cardinals, focus will be on Big Mac … and understandably so.  We are still waiting for a real apology.