Twenty-five-year-old Scottie Scheffler won the Masters PGA Golf Tournament this past Sunday at Augusta National. Don’t miss this! Just eight weeks ago, he had 0 wins in 70 PGA starts, had won a combined $8.7M career earnings, and was ranked number 14 in the world. As of last Sunday, Scottie had won 4 out of 6 tournaments in the past 57-day span, won $8,436,000 in that same 57 days, and now is ranked number 1 in the world. Of course, he is also now a Masters champion. Here’s the question for us to consider today regarding Scottie Scheffler: Is he a Christian who golfs or a Golfer who is a Christian?
Scottie Scheffler Discussing His Win and Mindset
As Scottie participated in the final press conference of the day, these are some of his reflections and statements.
How did you handle the stress of last night and this morning?
Scottie described the night before he spilled his meal in his lap on the way home, which his wife, Meredith, thought was hilarious. The morning of, he did not know what to do. He explained he was crying like a baby because he was “so stressed out.” He told Meredith, his wife, that he did not feel ready for “this stuff.” “I just felt overwhelmed.” His wife Meredith told him, “Who are you to say that you are not ready?” He continued, “Who am I to say that I know what is best for my life? We talked about that God is in control, and the Lord is leading me. And if today is my time, then it’s my time. And if I shot 82 today, somehow I was going to use it for His glory.”
Did your faith play a significant role?
When asked, “I heard you are a religious man. Did your faith play a significant part in this victory?” After making an introductory comment about his wife, Meredith, he continued, “My faith affects all of my life, not just my life on the golf course. So, you know the Lord has given me a skill, and I am trying to use it for His glory. You know, outside of that, I’m just out here trying to do my best.”
How does he balance his desire to compete without it defining him as a person?
When asked about how he balances his desire to compete and immersing himself in it without allowing it to define who he is as a person, Scottie explained, “It all goes back to my faith. The reason why I play golf is that I’m trying to glorify God and all that he’s done in my life. So for me, my identity isn’t a golf score. Like Meredith told me this morning, if you win this golf tournament today, if you lose this golf tournament by ten shots, if you never win another golf tournament again, she goes, I’m still going to love you, you’re still going to be the same person. Jesus loves you. Nothing changes. All I’m trying to do is to glorify God. That’s why I am here, and that’s why I am in this position. And for me, it is not about a golf score.”
He went on to explain that if it had been his high school self playing, he would have been a different person. But now, every day, when he goes out on the golf course, Meredith prays for him to have peace. He wants to have peace, he explained, and “feel His presence. That’s her prayer every day, and that’s my prayer. And I really felt that today. I felt the peace.”
Regarding Scheffler’s Caddie, Ted Smith
When discussing his caddie, Ted Smith, he describes enjoying him, including his faith. Ted Scott (which Scottie calls Teddy), Bubba Watson’s former caddy, met Scottie at a Bible study last year. When Ted Scott left Bubba Watson, Scottie asked him to join him because he was a Christian. During the interview Sunday, Scottie said of Ted Scott, “I respect him so much just as a person. He’s a man of faith, and I love him.” Jim Nantz even referred to his faith and his caddie’s during the Masters’ broadcast on CBS.
From Michael Bamberger of Golf.com
On Golf.com, Michael Bamberger writes, “It’s easy, when writing any sort of game story, to skip right over any mention of God on the part of the protagonists. … But when Scheffler talks about his faith, it’s in the context of balance, and in this year of golfing madness and much noise, his priority system is just refreshing. He doesn’t come off as a me-me-me person or as a golfer looking for more and more and more.”
Back to our question – A Christian Who Golfs or a Golfer Who is a Christian?
I believe this is a critical question to consider. Is Scottie functioning as a Christian who golfs or as a golfer who also happens to be a Christian?
This is a critical question for all of us who follow Jesus.
Are we first a Christian and then something else, or are we first something else who also happens to be a Christian?
The way you answer this question essentially tells so much about you as a person. Where does Christ fit in your life? How do you live out seeking to live for the glory of God? How do you see yourself?
These are essential questions of identity.
Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, along with Sonrise Baptist Church
At Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary (BBC/TS) and at Sonrise Baptist Church in Ozark, Missouri, where I have the privilege to serve as a pastor, we discuss this critical question often. At BBC/TS, where we educate both professional studies students and ministry studies students, we agonize over this issue as faculty. We strive to train students who are Christians first. We want the glory of God to weigh heaviest on their minds and hearts as they do whatever it is they do in life. At Sonrise, our passion is no different as part of our discipleship process.
In other words, we want to train Christians first who participate in society through a particular vocation.
Other colleges train people vocationally while being grateful that they are simply Christian. BBC/TS is different. We put our effort into helping the student become like Jesus Christ as a God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-empowered, Bible-saturated person. Our hearts soar with excitement or break with sadness depending upon how a student chooses to live life. We are not satisfied with simply teachers who are Christian, business people who are Christian, or even ministry-related folks who are Christian. Instead, we want passionate followers of Jesus Christ who live each and every day in the moment striving for God’s glory and who also happen to teach, be in business, work in vocational ministry, be a golfer, or anything else.
Of course, the same goes with Sonrise. At Sonrise, we seek to bring God glory by developing passionate followers of Jesus Christ. We do this by loving God supremely and our neighbors sincerely. What we do in and around our community is always secondary to who we are as followers of Jesus Christ.
What about you?
As stated earlier, are you a Christian who golfs or a golfer who is a Christian?
In another way, are you first a Christian and then something else, OR are you first something else who also happens to be a Christian?
This article was first posted on Kevin Carson’s website found here.