Making the Cut

No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Cor 9:27

The Masters is this weekend and the unofficial start to golf season.  The Masters is such a unique event in so many ways.  Not only is it the most highly coveted prize in golf, but it kind of sets the tone.  It is played on a pristine course that sets itself above anything else out there.  Of course there is St. Andrews and there is Pebble Beach, but even the non-golfer knows Augusta and the Masters.  From a timing standpoint, the Masters gets us out of our doldrums and into a springtime form of mind.  As I write this, a young man by the name of McIlroy is winning by four strokes going into the last round.

I spent four years in the golf industry and learning some of the nuances of golf even though I am not a regular player.  it is I believe the only sport that is for the most part self-policing.  Disqualification for the most part occurs when a golfer admits to something.  Those of us that play for recreation don’t really care if we move a ball from its lie or give ourselves a stroke or two benefit on our score.  After all, we are then only cheating ourselves.  This golfer disqualified himself by using the wrong ball, a seemingly inconsequential mistake, but the rules are the rules.

J.P. Hayes admission of using the wrong ball not only cost him a successful round, but knocked him out of contention for qualifying for his tour card.  A seemingly minor infraction had a major cost.  Thankfully his honesty kept him in the game.

So it is with the Christian life.  Seemingly major infractions can be used by God for his glory.  Consider David who committed adultery and murder yet was called a “man after God’s own heart”.  On the other hand consider a guy like Achan (Joshua 7) who hid treasure which would seemingly would not have hurt anyone.  But it violated a command and God called him our on it and it resulted in the loss of his life.  Annanias and Sapphira were removed from the race not because they sold their property and kept a portion of the proceeds, but because they “lied to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:1-16). 

So the issue is the heart, not the infraction.  When God calls us out, it is based on our heart attitude.  It does not mean that we can go commit a crime and expect not to pay.  David paid big time for his sin.  But he was not disqualified from the race.  Peter paid for his sin of denial of Christ and paid for his alienation of Gentile believers (Gal 2:11), but was not disqualified.  In fact, we can bumble our way through life and if we are committed to the cause of Christ, we can be used. 

What is Paul saying in 1Corinthians 9?  Can we will or work our way into God’s service?  No the key is the motivation of 9:23 - “I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it”.    I want to be used, I need to be used.  My prayer is somehow, someway God can use me in spite of my constant awareness of my sin.  In fact, the more I desire to be used, the more aware I am of my sin.  God can use rough, raw material in any of us.  But those of us who trust in our raw material will find ourselves disqualified.