Learning From Tiger's Tale

Today is the beginning of the 2010 Master’s Tournament. It’s been going on every year now for about 76 years. Tiger Woods is dominating the airwaves as he finally returns to golf after his Thanksgiving night fiasco that nearly destroyed his marriage.

Americans are fascinated by his story. Some participate in a sort of sick revelry that someone so rich, famous and successful has fallen so far. They feel a kind of warped satisfaction when they see one of their social gods come tumbling down.

Some are fascinated by how human their social gods really are. Tiger, the god of golf, is really just a fallible human like all the rest of us. Many are fascinated by the double life he lived. They search for answers to questions that may never be answered: Did Elin really never have a clue? How will Tiger’s two children interpret their father’s philandering when they are old enough to comprehend? Why is Elin still with him? Would Tiger not be restored to ‘god’ status were he to regain the trust of his wife? Will he ever really recover professionally from the damage done to his reputation?

Unfortunately, it seems Tiger turned to therapy to treat his ‘disease’ instead of turning to God to forgive him his sin. The fascination so many have with Tiger may be caused by the fact that he typifies what is so wrong with so many marriages in America. Tiger was willing to pretend to be someone he wasn’t for the sake of temporary sexual satisfaction. He convinced a dozen women that he was emotionally attached to each of them and he deceived them for no other reason than to satisfy his own selfish desires.

It seems to be the norm in our culture today to desert the old method of courtship in favor of the newer method of dating and instant gratification. The wiser heads of years past realized that the raging hormones rushing through a young man’s body prevented him from thinking rationally. So, a courtship, often encouraged by parents, was the accepted method of finding a mate. The courtship was long enough for the couple to realize if they were compatible. If done successfully under the supervision of chaperones the couple could decide their future without being defrauded by illicit sexual activity.

In our more modern culture that method is considered antiquated. Men, like Tiger, often use deception to capture a woman’s heart. He is very crafty, becoming all things to her and trying his best to satisfy her “Knight in Shining Armor” complex. Many sacrifice their integrity, their honor, their friends and family in anticipation of sexual favors.

After the bond is completed by a marriage ceremony he continues to live his life of deception until the pressure becomes too great. He gets tired of the façade. The day to day pressure of being someone he is not causes him to become an angry and frustrated man. In his attempt to break out of the prison he has created for himself he often turns against the woman he once ‘loved’ or he becomes more and more miserable in his dungeon of compliance. Usually, the result is a painful divorce.