Monday, June 2, 2014

June 3, 2014

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 5:3

If you think of golf you may think it is a relatively easy game played by old guys who can't cut it in a real sport.

Should you be one who thinks that you would be seriously mistaken. Try it some time!

While golf is not physically demanding in terms of conditioning, it requires considerable physical coordination and mental concentration.

But, as a golfer for nearly 50 years, I think what makes it a challenging is the fact that it is completely counter intuitive.

What I mean by that is while it would seem right to grip the club tightly and swing as hard as you can to smash the ball down the fairway that is exactly the wrong thing to do!

Don't take my word for it, go try for yourself.

Professional golfers grip the club lightly and swing the club smoothly at about 75 to 80% of their effort and the ball rockets off their club face accurately toward their intended target with precisely the right amount of spin!

It would seem to make sense to swing the club head at the golf ball.

Uh.........nope!

Accomplished golfers swing the club head at their intended target and the golf ball simply happens to be to be in their way. They swing "through the ball" not at the ball. 

What does this have to do wih anything spiritual?

I make the comparison between the counter intuitive nature of the golf swing and the Beatitudes, which also turns your natural way of thinking upside down.

Each of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5 begin with the phrase, "Blessed are......" Blessed means happy in a spiritual sense. You could substitute the word "joyful" for "blessed" and everything Jesus said will bring you joy is completely opposite of what you would think would bring happiness.

The values of the Kingdom of God are 180 degrees away from what the human heart and mind would value.

As we study the Beatitudes through the Summer prepare to feel surprised, confused, convicted and hopefully in the end - HAPPY!

To see what I mean, begin reading and meditating on Matthew 5:1-13.