Putt in Your Investment

Ephesians 4:16

      The best golf score of my life is nine under par and when it happened I awoke with no sense of what would take place that day. How could someone who has never shot par shoot nine under for a round?  I know what you are thinking – and No, cheating is not the answer!  I posted a legitimate and honest score of nine under at a Church golf tournament.  How?  Well, that’s the rest of the story. 

      The tournament was in a scramble format. Every team member hits a ball and the foursome goes to wherever the best shot lands, from where each shoots their next shot. The resulting dynamic is unique and fascinating.  Rather than the team’s fortunes going up and down with each individual shot, the four golfers compensate for weaknesses and take advantage of strengths without any one shot putting the team score in peril.  It takes the pressure off the less gifted golfers, encourages team members to be adventurous, and allows all four players members to post a lower score than any of them could do by themselves.  

      In our case, the nine under score had very little to do with my contributions, which were at times embarrassing.   Although my three teammates were counting on me to shoot good shots, they remained patient and encouraging as my game failed to materialize with any consistency. We struggled for the first six holes before putting together a string of birdies that got more exciting as the round progressed. The faith and kindness of my teammates was rewarded on the last putt of the day when we were some 30 feet away from the hole on an undulating green.  Making this difficult putt did not seem very likely and I’m sure my teammates certainly did not rest their hopes in me being the one to sink it. But, you could not discern that in their attitudes and words as I walked to my ball.  

      The demonic principalities and powers that had toyed with my game all day were either distracted or hindered by an angelic presence. I think someone said, “Be the ball.” I lined up, struck the ball, and expectantly watched. It made it to the top of rise on the green and almost stopped but then began to roll down the remaining 20 feet. It was quiet. Too quiet. Birds weren’t singing, crickets weren’t chirping and none of us were saying anything – just hoping against hope. As it got closer to the hole, we started to believe it might go in. “Go! Go! C’mon.” The ball’s descent came to a crawl as it melted towards the hole, seemed to pause, and then took one more revolution into the bottom of the cup.  Our cheers were worthy of a Ryder Cup victory.  If it was an LIV event, people would have thrown water bottles.  

       The parallels between the scramble format and Christian fellowship are too obvious to miss. If we were to apply the same principles to our interaction with other church members, imagine what we could accomplish! 

    1 - Each player looks out for the good of the team.  

    2 - Each player is willing to carry the load when others fall short. 

    3 - Each player makes an honest heartfelt effort to contribute.

    4 - Each player is dependent upon the others because shots are required from all four.

    5 - Even though all the players can’t make the same contribution, they can all contribute.

    6 - Whenever one player succeeds, the whole team rejoices. 

    7 - Whenever one player fails, the other team members compensate and encourage.

    8 - The more experienced and effective players team up to teach and inspire struggling players.

    9 - The players strategize together, considering each others’ strengths and weaknesses to make shot selections.          

   10 - Working together the team can accomplish more than even the most gifted individual member.  

        We should approach our fellowship and ministry endeavors as a scramble, coordinating our gifts and experience in such a way that we all contribute to the greatest possible outcome.  Maybe, someone who has struggled in their faith for years will be the one who succeeds at just the right time.  What a beautiful way to lay up treasures in heaven – putt in your investment.