The entire world has been following the unraveling of the personal and professional life of Tiger Woods. In fact, his sponsor, Nike, released the following commercial featuring the voice of Tiger’s deceased father, Earl:
In recent news, Tiger announced that he would not play in this year’s U.S. open because of a persistent injury, but hopes to return to the game in July. And whether or not you were rooting for Tiger to win at the game of golf, should we be rooting for his success in piecing his life back together? Here are a few things to think about as you answer this question.
- All of us have messed up in different ways and in different areas of our lives and have been shown grace—undeserved forgiveness and favor. Whether it’s the way we have treated our spouse, how we have not done our work well, or our rebellion against our parents growing up, everyone has made mistakes and everyone has been shown mercy. Should Tiger be an exception?
- Tiger has already suffered natural consequences for his indiscretions – he has lost his wife, time with his children, money, championships and, most importantly, his reputation. Should there be more consequences?
- Remember the story of the Prodigal Son? He left his father, rebelled, blew his inheritance, and then was welcomed back by his father who ran to hug and greet him as soon as he chose to come home. Should Tiger be welcomed back?
- Tiger is still young and can have a full life ahead. That means he has an opportunity to do an enormous amount of good and teach the young how to avoid the mistakes he did. Should he be given an opportunity to do so?
This is a tough subject to tackle. What do you think? Should you root for Tiger Woods to succeed personally? Professionally?
