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Fore is Short for Forgiveness by Phil Callaway My son almost killed a friend of mine the other day. It’s not something we talk about a lot around town. In fact, only a handful of people know about it. Until now. It happened at our local golf course. We were on the first tee box, a place that beckons with promises of the opportunity to start again. We were standing on the first hole of our little course with grand visions of the round ahead. Jeffrey had a new driver with a head like a waffle iron. Carefully placing a brand new ball on a brand new tee, he took a few perfect practice swings, then smacked his first shot. Hard. To say he hooked the shot is like saying the Sahara Desert has sand in it. My friend Lyndon Earl had been enjoying his round until then. He was standing on the second green less than 100 yards away lining up along putt thinking pleasant thoughts when he heard two guys yelling, “Fore!” at roughly the same decibel level as a teenager’s stereo. Unfortunately, he barely had time to blink before the ball struck him hard. Lyndon thought he was dead. I thought he was dead. Running toward him as fast as you can run in golf shoes, both Jeffrey and I were wondering if we should call an ambulance or a hearse. Later that day, Jeffrey and I showed up at his house with a card and a gift. Lyndon limped to the door and smiled at us as we stood there apologizing for the 11th time. “No problem,” said Lyndon. “I’m a welder. I’m used to incoming objects.” He was kind enough to show us the bruise, of course. The size of a small beach ball, it was not pretty. In fact, it looked like a giant discoloured prune. With dimples. .Surprisingly, it’s owner offered us a bigger gift than we will ever offer him: the gift of forgiveness. I talked with a former Buddhist once, asking him what he saw in Christ that he never saw in Buddha. He didn’t even pause to think about it. “Forgiveness for my sin,” he said. A few years ago, I watched another story of forgiveness unfold during the prestigious British Open. Ian Woosnam was atop the leader board, tied on the last day of the tournament with four other golfers. That’s when his caddie Miles Byrne admitted he’d made a mistake. He had put 14 clubs in the bag — one too many in the picky game of golf. Woosnam had to call a two-stroke penalty on himself — a penalty that would knock him out of the lead and cost him the match. It has since been called one of the worst gaffs in major championship history. But the response of Woosnam is the real story. People wondered how loudly the Welshman would yell. Instead, the Irish Examiner printed his response: “With a superhuman show of forgiveness Woosnam did not murder Byrne.” “It’s the biggest mistake he will make in his life,” said Woosnam. “He won’t do it again. He’s a good caddie. He will have a severe talking to when I get in, but I’m not going to sack him.” As the two walked together down the fairway to the 18th green, the crowd rose to its feet giving them a standing ovation. Failure and remorse. Repentance and forgiveness. I think I’ve read that story somewhere before. Phil Callaway is the author of ‘To Be Perfectly Honest: One Man's Year Of Living Almost Truthfully Could Change Your Life.’ Visit him at laughagain.org.
Midas Touch? Hardly by Rhonda Rhea One look in my fridge and we all realize I do not have the Midas touch. Gold? Um, no. It’s pretty clear from the blue-green glow coming from inside the fridge that most things I touch turn to fuzz. I admit it. Cleaning the fridge is generally way too far down the line on my list of priorities. I’ve brought more than one box of baking soda to its knees. I hope I’ll never be casual, though, about how I touch others with my words, and how those words affect and influence people. The Bible’s Ephesians 4:15 refers to “speaking the truth in love.” Truth. Love. We really have to have both. Truth without love is harsh, but love without truth is fruitless. It’s easy to say what we think others want to hear. Easy, but not fruitful. I want my words to touch lives in ways that will make a difference. That doesn’t always mean saying things that are warm and fuzzy (and by the way, that’s not a reference to that mouldy kind of fuzzy). Sometimes helpful words are the kind that sting a little. Ecclesiastes 12:11 in the Bible says, “The words of the wise are like cattle prods — painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.” Cattle-prodding words. I really get a charge out of that visual. It goes both ways. I appreciate my closest friends who lovingly “herd” me in the right direction with caring words of wisdom. A painful poke instead of a tickle? I’m telling you, I’ll take the jab of truth any day. I’d rather head in the right direction after a stinging prod than to continue down the wrong road, all the while hearing everything’s fine and I’m doing great things. Value truthful words from a trusted friend. They’re more precious than the insincere, say-whatever-you-want-to-hear words of a flatterer. Give your faithful friends the freedom to tell you the truth even when it smarts. Those stinging truths are often the ones God can use to polish your character and make you more like Jesus. In the Bible, Proverbs 27:6 says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” Another version puts it this way: “You can trust a friend who corrects you, but kisses from an enemy are nothing but lies.” If you don’t have a friend who will speak the truth in love to you, be on the lookout for one. Ask God to provide that friend for you who can help add just the spit-shine you’re needing in your life. Loving words of truth and wisdom. Now there’s something I don’t want to let slide down my list of priorities. Ever. The fridge-cleaning? Okay, a spit-shine could definitely stand to come up the priority list a notch or two. Especially after last week. Who knew a bag of lettuce could totally liquefy? Rhonda Rhea is a radio personality and a conference speaker across North America. She is a wife, mother, and author of several fun and fruitful books. Look for her newest book, ‘Whatsoever Things Are Lovely,’ in stores now. Find out more at www.RhondaRhea.org. 
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