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tigerwoodsIn all the salacious news reporting about the scandal surrounding Tiger Woods, I recall hearing a sports lover bemoan the consequences that Tiger’s fall would have on golf. For many golf fans, Tiger is golf. Even those who do not watch golf on TV recognize and appreciate that Tiger is a very gifted athlete.

But what will happen to golf if Tiger does not return? How will Tiger’s adultery affect golf fans in the U.S.?

I fear the effects will be long-lasting. Tiger’s unwillingness to deprive himself of fleeting passions will unintentionally deprive his fans of the joy that comes from watching him play.

Pop superstar Whitney Houston has recently restarted a career that was on hold through most of the past decade due to years of drug abuse. A few months ago, she was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey.

whitney_houstonOprah called Houston’s voice “a national treasure” and asked her if she feared she had lost the gift. Oprah’s question implied that God had entrusted to Whitney “the voice,” and that drug abuse may have stolen that treasure from the nation.

In her response, Whitney seemed oblivious to the thought that her voice was given to her for others. And unfortunately, despite her recent sales comeback, Houston’s voice is nothing compared to what it was in the early 1990’s. Years of drug abuse have left her with a mere echo of her earlier talent.

These two examples remind us that sin leads to the squandering of God’s gifts.

The parable of the prodigal son emphasizes this idea of squandering in great detail. When the younger son asks for his inheritance, the father surprisingly obliges. The prodigal received his share of cattle, land, and food. “Not many days later,” the text says he “gathered everything together,” implying that he sold off all his father’s stuff at cheap prices so that he could hightail it out of town.

Sin always leads to the squandering of the Father’s good gifts.

The Evil One is not content merely to hold people in spiritual bondage and lead them to hell. He wants to diminish even the contributions they make to the common grace we benefit from in society.

In Satan’s world of darkness, it’s not enough to destroy Houston’s soul or expose Tiger’s lust. He wants to rob Tiger’s fans of their joy in watching him play golf, or rob the nation of Whitney Houston’s voice.

Sin always affects more than the individual who commits the offense. Whenever we sin, we are consciously or unconsciously affecting those around us. We are robbing those around us of the particular gifts that God has given to us. The pastor who commits adultery not only affects his family by losing his ministry. He squanders his gifts and deprives future generations of what could have been a legacy of faithful preaching and teaching.

Satan not only wants our heart; he wants our hands. He wants to limit our contributions to the world by killing and destroying us, while also stealing from those who might benefit from our lives.

The good news is… there is a prodigal God who lavishes grace at a rate faster than we can squander his gifts. When we come home empty-handed, we are ushered into loving arms.

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