A reader sent in a link to a post at the Redeeming Prufrock blog about a moving moment during the Masters golf tournament last weekend. Athletes commonly shout out possibly-sincere “thanks” to God for their athletic victories, but there was something different about the way golfer Zach Johnson spoke briefly about his faith:
...living this life of relationship with Christ meant that Zach could not help but share the Gospel with the watching world. On Sunday, he told the truth, that the stregnth for his victory came from the presence of his Jesus. Certainly this ruffled some feathers. CBS refused to ask a follow-up question concerning Zach’s faith, and many of the aforementioned “USA Today” readers responded negatively. Yet for Zach, no other way seemed possible. He answered the question honestly, and in doing so, tactfully told the world about the goodness of God in his life. If you will permit me another dirty word often deserving of a technical foul, he evangelized.How I often try to hide Christ’s glory when I refuse to articulate his work in my life. How I often say that I am “lucky” when God’s grace, and certainly not luck, sustains me. How I often hinder people from seeing how great God is when I balk at giving the deserving credit to him.
I know absolutely nothing about golf, so I didn’t see Johnson’s statement, but it sounds like a powerful moment. Good further commentary at the Redeeming Prufrock blog; read the whole thing.
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April 12, 2007 at 23:23
For reference, this is what Zach Johnson said…
“I was not alone out there. Jesus was with me every step of the way.”
His voice broke, and he cried.
Its hard to tell what would be more uncomfortable in a sports interview, his mention of Jesus or that he cried. The blog cited suggested that he was evangelizing and showing his humble attitude as a Christ like example.
Sports certainly can bring about moments. This, probably, is one of the central draws of sports. The struggle to victory. I would say sport itself is close to being a religious experience if not an actual one in some cases.
In terms of revealing Jesus to the world, I’m not sure that winning the Masters with the help of Jesus is really the best message. I can hear the snide remarks. For example, “I guess Jesus was busy helping Zach at the Masters and couldn’t help out with world hunger.”
I believe the statement that Zach Johnson made says more about Zach Johnson than it says about Jesus. It tells me that Zach Johnson plays with a lot of heart and soul and that he’s pretty sentimental. I don’t see that as bad or good. Its just part of who Zach Johnson is.
To me, its not a very well thought out view of Jesus and is part of the reason Christians are ridiculed so much. Christians often see this a persecution. Its not.
Zach Johnsons story is the hero’s story and makes great sports moments. I guess I don’t buy the idea that Jesus did it all. I think Zach Johnson had to hit the ball in there someplace.
April 14, 2007 at 11:23
Mr. Harty’s reply seems to miss the blogger’s point about Johnson’s comments. To state that Jesus’ actively helping a golfer is “not a very well thought out view of Jesus” also demonstrates a lack of understanding of what exactly Johnson was saying in the interview in question.
Johnson is certainly not suggesting that Jesus is an over-glorified version of Chubbs in Happy Gilmore—rather, he is saying that his victory is a function of God-given golf ability and the strength which he finds in Christ to exercise that ability. This is not really about golf at all, nor is it about calculated proselytizing. It is, however, about a man honestly sharing the source of his ability with the world in a candid and unassuming manner. Had Johnson given credit to his parents (another golfer comes to mind here), nothing more would have been said about the interview. In Johnson’s mind, Christ has played a larger role in his development as a person even than his parents, and that influence has in turn impacted not the way he plays golf, but the way he conceives of his own success and failure as a golfer. Should he not, then, give credit to Jesus for his success?
At a deeper level, I think we should consider what winning the Masters really means in the long-run. Truth be told, it means nothing: it means that you may land an endorsement deal of some kind, that you get a green jacket that you can’t take with you, that your face will be plastered all over ESPN Classic, and that you will be “immortalized” in an almanac. Big deal. Someday, however, Zach Johnson will die, just like every other person who has ever won or NOT won a Masters. At that point, the golf won’t matter anymore.
What Johnson really did was make it clear what winning the Masters meant to him—it didn’t mean any of the transitory things above, but it did carry implications for his personal relationship with Christ, and in the moment, that’s all that he could see. In a world focused on the fleeting and insignificant things mentioned above, that was refreshing.
Christians are ridiculed for honestly expressing the joy and strength they draw from Christ, and why not? Sometimes their assertions do sound ridiculous, and sometimes I have no doubt that they are contrived. However, such expressions sometimes betray true conviction about Christ, which is notably lacking in a world where lots of people claim Christ with their lips without honoring Him with their lives.
April 14, 2007 at 15:31
Have written and deleted comments twice now .We watched Johnson play and win the Master’s – his witness was moving and sincere. Since we believe that our strength comes from the Lord, that in all things we are to give glory and honor to the Lord – then – yes – Mr. Johnson’s hands held the golf clubs – but most likely – Jesus WAS there with him every step of the way. Why is it easier to sound dismissive of walking with the Lord than to acknowledge it’s power? Guess that is why so few people really do ever get it – that being a Christian is not a religion – it is a life. Maybe I’ve over reacted – but I believe that God not only helps one golf – but to be excellent in anything which is not immoral or illegal and to do it in His name is worthy praise.
April 15, 2007 at 02:39
The reason its not a very well thought out view of Jesus is that golfers win the Masters all the time without Jesus. Now if I state that my meditation on Jesus’ teaching about not worrying about winning or not helps to keep me focused on my game then we have something that is tangible and doesn’t imply that its somehow more spiritual than some other method.
I think Christians need to ask “Why do people react so strongly to giving Jesus credit?” And the answer is something besides Satan is actively trying to suppress Christians.
Tony Campolo did some interviews at public colleges around the country asking what people thought of Jesus. Pretty much all of them answered positively about Jesus and saw Jesus as a positive character who was loving, kind, forgiving, wise, and a source of support. Now when he asked what they thought of evangelical Christians, he got the opposite response. They were seen as rude, judgemental, ignorant, and arrogant.
So Tony asked why is Jesus seen so differently than His followers? It doesn’t seem that Jesus has a PR problem.
Now, I don’t deny that one can find comfort and support in a belief in Jesus. The implication is that it is somehow noble among Christians to claim support from Jesus. A kind of, may the most humble win, sort of implication. I’m not saying that Zach Johnson is doing this. He seemed pretty choked up about his win and it appears that there is a deeper story. I like him, based on what I have seen and heard from him so far.
I don’t claim to know what Zach Johnson’s motives were. I would rather let him reveal that. The implication from the blog was that Zach Johnson was evangelizing. I don’t believe that was Zach Johnson’s purpose because it did seem to be a natural response and not contrived to be a “witness.” I think the more we analyze it the less authentic it will appear.
Now if we want people to see that Christianity is not a religion, but a life, then I think it would be better to stop talking about it so much and start living it. I get suspicious when people have to keep mentioning that Jesus did it for them or impressed them to do it or that they have a Christ based business. In my experience those are red flags that I had better watch out.
Jesus didn’t have to tell people that he was a loving person. He just went around doing loving things. If I remember correctly He suggested that we look at a person’s fruits rather than their claims.
April 16, 2007 at 12:50
It is never a bad idea to acknowledge that God in general or Jesus in specific is walking with you, or to give all the glory to God for anything good that happens in your life. But there are many things in life I remind myself not to dare pray for, because they are not worthy of divine intervention. I would classify winning a golf tournament in that category, if I played golf, which I don’t. Likewise, getting a high score on a game of Tetris, winning on the rare occasions I try a lottery, winning a chess match, etc. Let’s assume for a moment that every player in that tournament was a Christian and praying for God to give them the championship. Or even that two or more were. How is God to respond to such prayers? Why should God have any preference at all? Would God have been less present with Mr. Johnson if he had lost? God is with us, win lose or draw. God is with us when we are making bad choices, although certainly not helping us make them. That creates a fine line about testifying to God when we win.
April 17, 2007 at 20:09
For those interested, I’m written a response to some of the comments on my blog for today’s post:
http://redeemingprufrock.blogspot.com/
Feel free to check it out if you’ve been following the discussion so far.
April 17, 2007 at 22:06
I like to pray for two things when I play a game:
1) That the other person wins. (I want to get better at considering others more important than myself.)
2) That I play in the power of the Holy Spirit. (I figure that I should depend on God in everything that I do. So, if I’m not depending on Him in this game, why am I playing it?)
Another thought: When David hit Goliath, did he aim?
April 20, 2007 at 10:38
Whatever happened to praying for His devine will to be done? We have been taught the big smiley genie in the sky, “just ask and it’s your’s”.
I used to have teens in a youth group that would want me to pray for there upcoming sports matches so they could “win”. So sad they would never think to pray for the widows and orphans of the faith. It was almost always about them. We have been taught to selfishly pray, not seeking God’s will in our prayers but seeking our will from Him.