Grip vs. love

November 21, 2007

By Randy Mantik

My golf clubs sit in the back of the garage, waiting for the day when I get inspired enough to once again tread the green grasses of the golf course.

I learned to golf in high school. We gathered in a circle in phys-ed class and practiced chipping little wiffle balls at each other. We practiced putting too. In fact, I developed a pretty good putting touch. We closed that unit by going out to the golf course and playing a round. I think I shot about a 50 for nine holes. I didn’t pick up a club again for years.

When I served on a church staff where the other guys loved to golf, I started playing again. I didn’t have a great desire to golf, but it was a good way to spend time with them. One of the guys really drilled into me the importance of the grip. Again and again I would practice it, even while I was watching television in the middle of winter. One hand over the other, V between my thumb and index finger pointed down the shaft.

Thinking I had the grip in hand, I felt pretty confident. During our next game, I pulled the club back and came down with a mighty swing. Strike one. I reared back again. I came down again and can’t remember if I hit it or not. All I remember is thinking, Hey, this grip thing isn’t all of the game. It’s only part of it.

I spent many frustrating rounds with my friends, pretending I really liked golf when I would just as soon have taken a bath in ice water. But then I played golf with another friend.

This guy was Mr. Golf. He had custom-made clubs. He had a killer swing that always seemed to be right on target. But he never intimidated me. In fact, he rarely commented on my swing or my play. We just talked and enjoyed the game. He got me to relax and simply hit the ball. It actually felt good! I was sort of enjoying it!

What was the difference in the approach of my friends? They all played golf a lot and were all good players. But my second friend showed me what my other friends never did — a love for the game. To him, golf was much more than just mastering the perfect grip technique; he played golf because he loved golf.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were the “grip masters” of life. They could tell you exactly how to obey religious laws. They had laws for everything. They saw Jesus as a teacher and thought He would join in with them and discuss what was most important in life. Was it morals? Was it ethics? What was the most important thing?

It is not surprising it was a religious lawyer who asked this question of Jesus: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36, NIV). I think he was expecting some real discussion. Maybe a little heated debate. Perhaps a learned exposition on the finer points of law-keeping.

But Jesus always cut right to the heart of the matter. “Jesus replied: ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments’ ” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Jesus was basically saying, “Don’t bother playing the religious game if you don’t really love God and can’t really stand people. Nothing else will be of any use unless you do these two things first: Love God and love your neighbor.”

Despite the influence of my “Mr. Golf” friend, to this day I remain ambivalent about golf; I can take it or leave it. Therefore, I’ll never play it well. No matter how proficient I become with my grip technique, if I don’t love the game my level of proficiency really doesn’t matter; it’s just rote and rules.

Likewise, no matter how important particular elements of Christian living might be to me, it makes no difference until I do the first things — love God with my heart, strength and mind, and love others as myself.

If you are looking for meaning in your life, find your first love for God again. Until you do, you’re just going through the motions of religion; you’re just proficient at keeping the rules.

Don’t just try to play the game right. Don’t concentrate on all the mechanics, the dos and the don’ts, the rights and the wrongs. Focus on two things: Love for God, and demonstrating God’s love to others. You’ll rediscover a love for the game of life as your Heavenly Father plays it with you.

Randy Mantik is senior pastor of Crossroads Church of the Assemblies of God in Pembine, Wis.