I am a huge golf fan.
And if truth be told I am a huge Tiger fan.
Tiger can do things in golf that know one else can do.
Not only that he has taken the game of golf to a new level and challenged a new generation of golfers to do the same.
What I am not a fan of is the decisions Tiger made outside of the game of golf.
What I am not a fan of is how he hurt his family.
But what I am also not a fan of is how the world decides it is okay to hit, kick, sucker punch a man while he is down. Even more than that how the world has decided it is okay to push a man off a cliff as he is trying to climb back up out of the pit.
There is a story in the Bible where Jesus stands before an angry mob who is ready to stone a woman for sleeping around. Jesus says to them, “If you are without sin, cast the first stone.” And one by one they drop the stones until there are no excusers left.
This passage got me wondering, would we be able to recognize our own mistakes and drop our stones or would we go ahead and pelt Tiger with them?
Tiger will have to live with this mistake the rest of his life. He will most likely spend his days in search of redemption. But we don’t have to make it hard on him.
The world has the power to forgive. Some of Tigers closest friends have forgiven him. So why can’t we?
Maybe we like to say things about Tiger because it makes us feel better about what we do on a daily basis that hurts others.
Maybe if I told you all my mistakes you would start throwing stones at me too.
I have hurt people. People I love. I have done things that I am ashamed of.
But I am a man that gets to walk tall because I have been forgiven; forgiven by family and friends, and most importantly forgiven by God.
I walk in the light of grace!
Maybe we could extend that same kind of forgiveness and grace to people like Tiger.
Maybe we could extend that same kind of forgiveness and grace to those around us who have hurt us.
And maybe if we would just drop our stones we would see the power of forgiveness first hand.
The world would be better that way!
I extend the same question to you and to me:
“If you haven’t mess up in your life, if you have hurt others, cast the first stone!”
Justin Cherry 