Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World
Day 218 – Week 32 – Take a Mulligan
Scripture focus: Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be – you get a fresh start, your slate’s wiped clean. Psalm 32:1 The Message
The men in my family love the game of golf. They’re always coming home and deconstructing their game. Recently Scott was telling us about how his friend took a “mulligan” on one hole. What the heck is that, I wondered. But I didn’t ask. I figured it would take less time to look it up in the dictionary. So here goes: mulligan – an extra shot, especially after an inept first shot.
(There’s an alternative definition that has to do with a stew, originally made by tramps. But since Scott’s friend is a very classy guy, I’m not thinking they made stew on the golf course.) The first shot off the tee often sets up the rest of the hole – for good or evil. It sounds to me like a mulligan is a good thing – a golfer’s gift to himself. Wouldn’t it be cool to get a mulligan once in awhile in real life? Do you have any moments in your life that you’d like to replay? I know I do! In Psalm 32, the psalmist claims a mulligan. And this week, we’re going to wrestle with how we can access our own personal mulligan experience.
I asked my son, Scott, about how one goes about invoking a mulligan in the game of golf. He was quite insulted. “In the game of golf, there is no such thing as an official mulligan. If you were playing strictly by the rules – there are no mulligans in the game of golf.”
“So how did Matt get a mulligan in your game last week?”
“We’re friends; we weren’t keeping score. He just said he wanted to play another ball. No big deal.” Among friends, we often grant “do overs.” If Scott and Matt were competing, they wouldn’t consider asking for a mulligan. But these two friends are out for a companionable day on the links – they’re not there to judge each other’s game.
I think this is the concept God is teaching in the gospels. The Ten Commandments and a whole lot of experience with humanity prove that we mortals are often in need of a mulligan. God provides a way to over-ride the “rules” without diminishing his need for justice. His name was Jesus. Jesus paid the price for our bad tee shots, providing us with a lifelong supply of mulligans. This act of mercy and grace is impossible for us to comprehend when we’re mired in the muck of trying to earn our way to the top of the leader board by our own performance.
“Addicts, at one level, judge themselves by society’s standards. Unable to measure up to these, they live with constant pain and alienation. Each one, convinced that he or she alone is afflicted, lives in isolation and constant fear of discovery.” Out Of The Shadows, by Patrick Carnes, p. 6.
Addicts aren’t the only people who can’t make it into the winner’s circle without a mulligan. None of us live life with such perfect precision as to not need divine intervention. If you’ve been trying to make it through life trying to measure up to society’s standards – relax. You’re not alone in your affliction. It’s my prayer that you find a community and begin the awesome discovery of figuring out what it means to be able to count yourself lucky, experience the emotion of happiness – when you realize that God prefers a companionable day in relationship with you more than a cut throat came of compare and compete.
Recommended reading: Ezra 1, 2 in the morning; 1 Corinthians 2, Psalm 26 in the evening
The men in my family love the game of golf. They’re always coming home and deconstructing their game. Recently Scott was telling us about how his friend took a “mulligan” on one hole. What the heck is that, I wondered. But I didn’t ask. I figured it would take less time to look it up in the dictionary. So here goes: mulligan – an extra shot, especially after an inept first shot.
(There’s an alternative definition that has to do with a stew, originally made by tramps. But since Scott’s friend is a very classy guy, I’m not thinking they made stew on the golf course.) The first shot off the tee often sets up the rest of the hole – for good or evil. It sounds to me like a mulligan is a good thing – a golfer’s gift to himself. Wouldn’t it be cool to get a mulligan once in awhile in real life? Do you have any moments in your life that you’d like to replay? I know I do! In Psalm 32, the psalmist claims a mulligan. And this week, we’re going to wrestle with how we can access our own personal mulligan experience.
I asked my son, Scott, about how one goes about invoking a mulligan in the game of golf. He was quite insulted. “In the game of golf, there is no such thing as an official mulligan. If you were playing strictly by the rules – there are no mulligans in the game of golf.”
“So how did Matt get a mulligan in your game last week?”
“We’re friends; we weren’t keeping score. He just said he wanted to play another ball. No big deal.” Among friends, we often grant “do overs.” If Scott and Matt were competing, they wouldn’t consider asking for a mulligan. But these two friends are out for a companionable day on the links – they’re not there to judge each other’s game.
I think this is the concept God is teaching in the gospels. The Ten Commandments and a whole lot of experience with humanity prove that we mortals are often in need of a mulligan. God provides a way to over-ride the “rules” without diminishing his need for justice. His name was Jesus. Jesus paid the price for our bad tee shots, providing us with a lifelong supply of mulligans. This act of mercy and grace is impossible for us to comprehend when we’re mired in the muck of trying to earn our way to the top of the leader board by our own performance.
“Addicts, at one level, judge themselves by society’s standards. Unable to measure up to these, they live with constant pain and alienation. Each one, convinced that he or she alone is afflicted, lives in isolation and constant fear of discovery.” Out Of The Shadows, by Patrick Carnes, p. 6.
Addicts aren’t the only people who can’t make it into the winner’s circle without a mulligan. None of us live life with such perfect precision as to not need divine intervention. If you’ve been trying to make it through life trying to measure up to society’s standards – relax. You’re not alone in your affliction. It’s my prayer that you find a community and begin the awesome discovery of figuring out what it means to be able to count yourself lucky, experience the emotion of happiness – when you realize that God prefers a companionable day in relationship with you more than a cut throat came of compare and compete.
Recommended reading: Ezra 1, 2 in the morning; 1 Corinthians 2, Psalm 26 in the evening
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