S3 E26 - Don't Touch That Golf Ball!

I was golfing with some brothers this past weekend when a ball came flying our direction right next to our tee box. Being ingnorant of golf etiquitte as a novice, I leaned over to pick up the stray ball and thrown it back towards the party in front of us. "Don't touch that ball!" my friend hollered at me. Apparently, that's a no no in golf. I had no idea. I thought I was doing the right thing, but could have ended up doing the wrong thing. Well...isn't that true of ourselves with cultures and people we are ignorant towards? Paul says that he became all things to all people, in order that by any possible means he could save some. This meant Paul was willing to learn about others, and mold himself, not demand others become like him. Do we have this same attitude? Or would we rather remain ignorant? 

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Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths?

Would you believe me? 
 Hi, I’m BJ Sipe – and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above Podcast. 

I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father.

Thanks for tuning in!

When I moved to Kentucky years ago, golf was not something that I participated in on a regular basis. I had taken a golf class while at college, and then played a few times here and there after that, but that was about it. In fact, one of the last times I had played before coming to Danville I actually cut my ear just about clean off. Yes, you heard that right. Who knew that golf was such a contact sport? That’s a story for another time, feel free to ask me about it privately if you’re curious. Anyhow, I say all of this to say that when it comes to golf I am a complete novice, even after playing more regularly with the guys here that I worship with during the summers. Nearly every time we are out on the golf course, some of our better golfers are thoughtful enough to give me tips and critiques of my game. Sometimes it’s correcting my swing, or my grip, or the angle of my club face. Sometimes it’s giving me a good dose of reality when after losing 4-5 balls off of one tee box saying, “just get in the cart.” You know they are good guys when they not only put up with my poor play but are even willing to continue inviting me back out with them! I am not only a novice when it comes to playing golf, but apparently I am also a novice when it comes to golf etiquette. Allow me to explain what happened this past weekend when I was out on the course with three of our brothers Mark, Terry, and Damon. I can’t remember exactly what hole we were teeing off from, but we were standing on the tee box and in the middle of taking our turns driving into the fairway (or into the trees for me). The hole we were on ran perpendicular to the next whole that was directly to our left, and the party in front of us was also teeing off on that hole. Right as Terry was about to make his drive, suddenly we started hearing loud yells from the party ahead of us, “FORE FORE FORE!” If you don’t know what that means, you yell “fore” when you strike a ball that starts towards someone else so they can duck and protect themselves from being hit by the ball. We all ducked and took cover, not even taking time to look up and find the ball. A loud thud sounded right in front of our tee box, and there lay one of the other parties’ balls about 10 feet away from us. It was a close one! Again, let me remind you, I am a novice when it comes to golf etiquette. So let me tell you what my immediate reaction was. In my mind, I wanted to do the thoughtful and polite thing – so I started walking over to the ball, fully intending on picking it up and throw it back to whoever it belonged to. Surely they were going to hit another ball (that’s what I would do) and not play this one, so I started leaning over to grab it. “Don’t touch that golf ball!” Terry hollered at me. I jolted up, startled by the quick instructions directed my way. “You never, never touch another golfers ball,” he said, “You never know what kind of a game they’re playing. They could be playing for money or something else that demands they play the ball as it lies.” I had never thought of that. I was so glad for the instructions, and I felt really foolish for just a moment. Here I was, trying to do the right thing, but because of my ignorance almost did something that would have really offended the party ahead of us or caused a problem. Good thing I was playing with some experienced golfers who could mentor me not only in my own game, but in how the game works with how I interact with others. 

This entire experience got me thinking specifically about the way that we approach others as Christians. Today, we want to examine Paul’s attitude towards people from different cultures and backgrounds. Let’s examine what Paul writes to the Corinthian church from 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. “Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law—to win those under the law. To those who are without the law, like one without the law—though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ—to win those without the law. To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some. Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.” 

The first thing that we want to emphasize is Paul’s willingness to learn and not remain ignorant. Notice what Paul says, “to the Jews he became as a Jew” – and this is natural enough. Paul himself was a Jew, and was extraordinarily familiar with their customs, practices, and laws. He himself was once a respected teacher of the Law of Moses. But that is not all Paul says, he also says, “to those who are without law, he became like one without law.” Now, he clarifies that he did not mean to say he participated in sinful practices – he always remained under God’s direction. What he meant was that he became all things to all people from different backgrounds and cultures. Paul did not want to needlessly offend others, or attempt to preach the gospel to others but actually end up doing so ineffectively because of his ignorance of their culture, background, or beliefs. For Paul to be able to do this, good intentions were not good enough. He needed to learn and seek to understand others in order to become all things to all people. We see Paul put this into practice in places like Acts 17, where Paul preached at the Areopagus in Athens, Greece. Normally in Paul’s defense of the gospel, he would begin with Scripture and historical Jewish forefathers such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This was because these men were respected, authoritative, and understood by the Jewish community and Paul knew this. But when it came to this Greek audience, Paul did no such thing. Rather, Paul appealed to their alter to an unknown God (vv. 23) to creation (vv.24-27) and even to their own poets and prophets (vv. 28) – men that they knew and respected. What does this show us? This shows us Paul’s willingness to remove any barrier that stood in the way of sharing the gospel with others, including his own ignorance. He learned about others, their practices, and their culture. And using that knowledge, it equipped him to not only be respectful and thoughtful towards them, but connect on a level he would not be able to otherwise. We must understand the same for ourselves. Good intentions are not good enough – in fact we might end up hurting or offending others when that was the furthest thing from our intentions. 

The second thing we want to emphasize is how different we can sometimes be from Paul, particularly here in the United States where I am from. While this does not apply only to American Christians, this is what I have personally observed and witnessed in my lifetime. I have seen Christians act in such a proud, arrogant way when it comes to others who are different from them or who come from a different culture. Rather than being willing to learn about others, their cultures, and adapt themselves like Paul did, many times Christians here arrogantly demand that others are the ones that need to change. It is shameful that I have heard Christians say things like, “This is America, learn English!” to those who come from a different country. It is shameful that I have seen Christians not seek to understand different practices in cultures around them, but rather make fun of them, demean them, or mock them. When we behave in this way, we erect barriers between ourselves and others and destroy any hope of reaching them with the gospel. Look at Paul’s attitude once again – who did Paul call to put in the effort to learn and change, himself or others? Was it not himself? It was Paul’s humility that was the key to letting the gospel shine forth to any and all people. As he said, “I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.” Can we honestly say that we have that same attitude? May God shatter our prideful hearts, and instead give us the humility to adapt ourselves to others around us, so that by every possible means we might become all things to all people in order to save some. 

Thank you for tuning in for this week’s episode, and I would invite you back every Thursday for a brand-new episode each week. If you haven’t already, be sure to find us on Facebook for future announcements or even some special video sessions. If you have benefited from this podcast, share it with someone else that you think would benefit from it also. Until next time, know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each & every day set our minds above.