The combination of the Internet and Tiger’s apparent admission of infidelity has enabled countless millions to actually voice their opinion on the matter– in relative anonymity, nonetheless (a very dangerous thing, no doubt). My beautiful wife has received numerous interesting ones (some she had to turn down actually).  I am going to take a few days to address a few.

The first one I would like to address goes something like this (I am paraphrasing here):  ”I am tired of reading about the transgressions of yet another sports star.  And I am angry that I have ever paid a dime to any company sponsoring such a person, because they are unable to control themselves for the sake of their family and the greater human community.  Tiger deserves whatever he gets in this instance because he messed up so bad.”

Here’s a few concerns I have with such a comment:

1)  It reeks of self-righteousness and an ignorance of one’s own weaknesses.

You see that right?  Underlying the comment (such a comment is often made by a man by the way), is shock that such a man could ever cheat on his wife and let down his children and fans in such a way.  But if the person making the comment knew himself well enough, he would recognize that if he were placed in the same situation as the man he is criticizing, he would probably fall in exactly the same way…or worse.

Proverbs tells us that a haughty spirit goes before a fall.  The person making this comment is rather haughty and better be careful before he falls.  If we see ourselves clearly, we will recognize that no sin is beyond us.  In particular to the men, if you were in the shoes of your favorite celebrity, with easy access to countless beautiful women, you should be honest with yourself to admit that you would have a very difficult time controlling yourself as well.  Any man who doesn’t think so is the strongest candidate for a fall.

2)  This comment is severely lacking in compassion.

This goes hand-in-hand with the first, because only the humble in heart can be compassionate.  No doubt, all of us deserve much worse for our sins, but would you really like many of the things you have said and done in private to be plastered all over the news?  And if you were unfaithful to your spouse, how would you feel if the entire world knew of it in intimate detail in a matter of moments?

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, if you place yourself in the man’s shoes, you will have compassion.  In a moment you will recognize that the money and the fame don’t matter one bit when you are faced with screwing up the central thing in your life.  You will see the matter clearly and begin to have compassion on Tiger, even though you might actually think you want so much of what he has.

I say all this not to defend Tiger’s actions.  He acknowledged he sinned and I agree with him and am glad he has faced up to it.  But I am also praying for him, because I know that first, that I am never beyond such a sin.  And second, because if I ever did fall, I would hate having to deal with it with the entire world following my every move.

All that being said, let us be careful how we interact with such a story, taking diligent note of what we are apt to say and what it reveals first and foremost about ourselves.