I’m into the Golf Channel – weird, I know. Oh no, I don’t play golf. Never have. I watch it on TV. I watch golf when I want to relax. You know, when you need something to put you to sleep. I used to be into the Weather Channel, that would definitely relax me and put me right to sleep. But then they started with the weather drama. You know, twisters, hurricanes, tsunamis, would you survive this, would you live through that, shows. There’s just too much action there to relax. Besides, the announcers on the Golf Channel whisper – just so they don’t wake me.
I’ve never played golf. Well, technically. I’ve played putt-putt, but after about the oh, I don’t know, third hole, I’m bored to tears and ready to move on to the next thing. I’m not sure I’d be very good at golf, you know, the hand-eye coordination thing, or simply that coordination thing. Anyway, I was vegging to the Golf Channel the other day and I noticed something. I noticed that every hole is not the same. Of course I knew they weren’t all the same, there’s the dogleg left, the dogleg right, the sand hole, short grass, tall grass, uphill, downhill. But something I really didn’t think about was the yardage – not sure that’s the correct term. Anyway, I noticed from one hole to the next that each hole had a different yardage. Hole 14 might be 487 yards to the cup. Hole 18 might be 187 yards to the cup. See, what I was thinking was you go up to take your turn and you just whack the ball. You hit that sucker as hard as you possibly can. Kinda like a home run. Smack! The roar of the crowds tells you where it has landed. It’s a game of chance.
Well, I have learned through the whisperers, that golf is not a whack and go kind of game. The golfers carry around these little books in their back pockets called yardage books (I had to look that up). Tips on how to successfully put the ball into the cup. You see, the playing of each hole is different for each hole. Why? Because all holes aren’t the same, all golf courses are not the same. These little books have a map of the particular hole and note the terrain of the hole, the yardage of the hole, any obstacles on the way to the hole (sandtraps, bunkers, sprinkler heads, water). In addition to the yardage books, all golfers have caddies – someone who carries their baggage, they offer advice and insight on the course. Most caddies have played the course ahead of time in order to guide the golfers. Caddies also carry yardage books and make their own notes in order to make suggestions throughout the course. Golfers and caddies make notes in these little books based on their experiences in playing that particular course previously. You see, these yardage books act as a cheat sheet for each hole, for each course. Frankly, I didn’t realize how much skill, training, precision and study was needed to navigate a golf course.
I started thinking about life. Unfortunately, I think I sometimes play life just like I thought you played golf – get up there, swing as hard as you can to smack that puppy and watch it soar to the flag – hoping your ball doesn’t get lost in the trees. In fact, I sometimes play life like I play putt-putt – I’m bored after the third hole. That careless, bored approach is not the way the game was meant to be played. As I thought about it, I realized that the game of golf, in some ways, can be a metaphor for our Walk With Jesus. We too have a yardage book. You saw that coming didn’t you? It’s The Word of God. To be honest, we only pull out our yardage book based upon what hole we’re on, sometimes, don’t we? But, that’s not how the yardage books work. You see, the pros and their caddies study their yardage books before the match – they know what is in each book for each hole, for each course. They only pull out their yardage books as quick references because they already know what’s in the book. There’s a lesson there!
It is simply not possible to successfully navigate the course of life without pulling out our yardage book — The Word of God. It just can’t be done. Oh sure, we can get up there close our eyes and hack at life, but untrained, aimless, careless, bored, purposeless swings are very dangerous to ourselves and others – fore!!! Yet, if we are not relying on the instruction of the Word of God, listening to the Spirit of God and obeying His directions, that’s exactly what we’re doing – hacking. Remember the Israelites?
Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. But forty years after the Israelites left Mount Sinai, on a day in midwinter, Moses gave these speeches to the Israelites, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say. Deuteronomy 1:2-3
The Israelites hacked around for 40 years when it was an 11 day journey. They obviously didn’t follow the yardage book – ba dump bump!! Nor did they follow the advice of their caddie (Moses) – ba dump bump!! They were hackers.
Look what the Lord says to Caddie Joshua:
“Now that my servant Moses is dead, you must lead my people across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Everywhere you go, you will be on land I have given you – from the Negev Desert in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River on the east to the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand their ground against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
Be strong and courageous, for you will lead my people to possess all the land I swore to give their ancestors. Be strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.” Joshua 1:-7
Pull out your yardage book, study it, don’t try to play the game your way – look what happened to the Israelites – train and meditate on it, it will guide you. Obeying the Word of God – life’s yardage book, will allow you to be efficient, skilled, precise, purposeful in life. Just like golf takes hand-eye coordination. Reading the Word of God takes heart-head coordination. Read it with your head until it makes a change in your heart.