So, did you see or hear the apology by Tiger Woods? I just heard a bit of it but what I found interesting is the commentaries afterwards. One person said it was all scripted so it couldn't be aunthentic. Another person said Tiger said what he wanted to say and that is as close to hearing Tiger up close and personal as you will get.
As I thought about the first comment it made me think about people who comment about prayer in church. Some people think extemporaneous prayer is the only true prayer. They think that just because someone is reading a prayer or even reading someone's else's prayer that it could not be heartfelt. Yet people down the ages who have led exemplary Christian lives have written prayers that speak to the deepest of their own soul and perhaps speak to our soul as well. Their prayer may even articulate what we would really like to say but don't know the words to say. Romans 8: 26b, "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
Sincerity does not have to come from an immediate heart to mouth speech. Sincerity and authenticity can only be evaluated by the person themselves and the Spirit.
We can use words written earlier by ourselves or words written centuries ago by someone else to express our thoughts to God.
The best way to see if someone is sincere is to watch their behavior afterwards, and even that is not a fool proof test. I would like to give Tiger Woods the benefit of the doubt. I would like to believe that Tiger Woods will try to change his behavior. I would like to believe that God can take our paltry attempts and make it into something that can bring him glory.
May we extend just a small portion of the grace we have received to those around us.
Sincerely,
Pastor Randy
