On March 1st, I will have a drawing to give away a couple of pairs of tickets to the upcoming Gaither Homecoming concert in Lubbock on May 1st. This drawing is only for those who have responded to the blogs. Only after that will I begin announcing on the air that I have tickets. So, you blog-readers get the first opportunity. The names entered are far less in number than what they will be when I go “on the air” with this information. So, get your name in for the drawing.
Tiger Woods made a public statement about his sexual sins last week. His comments are worth reading if you go online and google to find them. The reason I bring this up is that he did something really rare. He didn’t blame other people. He took full responsibility. Did he mean it? Was he genuine? I don’t know. Maybe it all’s a show. Only Tiger and God know that. My focus is not on that. I was intrigued by the absence of the “blame game”.
Often, when someone does something that is offensive or disappointing or sinful, they will say something like “I’m sorry if what I did offended you.” That is a sorry apology when someone refuses to just straight-up say “I was a bone-headed foolish jerk for what I did, and I am truly sorry.” You see, if one has sinned, it doesn’t matter if it offended someone or not. That’s not the thing to apology or repent for. Repent for the deed or actions themselves. Don’t say, “I’m sorry if you were offended.” That puts the blame back on the people who are aware of your sins as if everything would be okay if you just didn’t get so irked about it.
I am not trying to lift up Tiger Woods as some kind of hero or saint because of his apology. It is not my intention in this blog to hold him up as exemplary. After all, an apology doesn’t necessarily mean the problem is solved. He has a long way to go to restore trust and respect. But, the words he spoke gave me a good opportunity to make these points about taking personal responsibility, which is sadly missing in many people’s public apologies for indiscretions.
As for the matter that he may not actually be sorry, but rather is only sorry he got caught, that may or may not be true. Sometimes, “getting caught” is the catalyst that leads to real repentance. I believe that is what happened with Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, and Ted Haggard. I believe those men genuinely repented for their sins, but it took “getting caught” to trigger the process, just as it did with King David in the matter of Bathsheba.
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