A Tiger by the tail

Tiger Woods caught by the tail certainly puts many things in perspective.

It’s interesting to note how early this year we were all facing one of the most uncertain times of our lives. Thousands if not millions worldwide were facing the certainty of unemployment. Thousands knew without a doubt that they would soon be homeless. And millions of professionals were drastically redefining their careers and limited job opportunities.

In perspective, the recent downfall of “would have been” golf legend Tiger Woods is a lesson we should learn from and not poke fun or pun on. Please do me the favor of reading this entire piece and I promise you’ll have plenty to think and talk about.

After a lifetime of preparation, discipline and hard work, after reaping all the glory and the wealth, we now find Tiger Woods going from Hero to Zero. In the golf course of life he would be in the quicksand.

From role model he has crumbled into a moral disaster and in terms of career success, he is headed towards ground zero in financial losses as sponsors and project partners begin to walk away.

The only difference is that Tiger threw away what he already had with eyes wide open, something many of us only dream of. He had fame, fortune and family. 

The curious part of it all is that Tiger quickly realized that the very “thing” he was willing to place at risk, turns out to be the thing that mattered the most to him – his family.

Now he will understand what people mean when they say: We often hurt first those who love us the most.

He also learned that in the eyes of his wife whom he betrayed, Tiger Woods was just a man. Chased with a golf club, the celebrity suddenly realized he had “feet of clay” and a real fear for his life.

Now, even with a fortune in the bank, he doesn’t have much of a life. The sense of betrayal in the eyes of a child, particularly your own, pierces you deeper than the spear used by centurions.

Hiding from prying eyes and the paparazzi will not take away the scrutiny that your conscience and self worth will subject you to. In the end you ask yourself a question you already know how to answer.

Instead of entertaining yourself silly with “Tiger jokes” and crass commentary on the golf course, we should all take to heart the real lesson of Tiger’s fall.

No matter how great, how rich or how powerful you become, don’t ever break the contract! In Tiger’s case he broke several contracts and now he has started to “pay” for breach of contract.

The most obvious ones are those with his wife and his sponsors. Either way, it’s going to cost him a lot of money and loss of confidence. Sadly many married men and a number of married women end up “breaching” the marriage contract because not even the best lawyers, priests or pastors can fully explain what it really is all about.

Many think of a “marriage contract” as a piece of paper formalizing an agreement to live as one. Yet there are many people who have lived together or live-in without the benefit of a “piece of paper”. What most people don’t realize or don’t know is that the “contract” is between God and the couple, not just the man and the woman.

Think about it, why do you need an “authority” to officiate if the deal is just between two people? Because the “authority” represents God.

Try researching foundational documents related to marriage and you will discover that God, particularly the Christian God “committed or entered” into a contractual agreement to bless, prosper and provide for couples entering into “marriage” or joined as one “under God”.

It’s the “under God” that matters, just like the Americans said when they said “One nation under God”. It was not just a prayer, it was a contract.

In return, the couple agrees to raise “godly” children and to faithfully abide by God’s will. The “official” marriage vows made to each other are actually “terms of engagement” or conduct towards each other to insure that they will be able to fulfill their contract to God. But the original contract was between God and Man.

So what happens when you breach a contract? The deal is off.

Kiss the blessings goodbye, kiss the protection goodbye, and kiss the provision goodbye! 

The sad truth is that most people never had God in mind when they go out to break the terms of engagement. Most people who fall like Tiger will tell you that they never imagined being found out or being caught. In general they think that it’s their sin, it’s their dirty little secret, and no one else gets hurt.

In your ignorance you breached the wrong contract.

 In your ignorance you unwittingly involved innocent parties in your breach of contract. Your wife, your children, your household, even your employees suffer the consequences of your action. When Tiger went through the embarrassment of his publicized sins, he did not do so as a single enterprise or individual.

His entire family suffered the embarrassment.

When Tiger lost the sponsorship of Accenture, he lost, his family lost, his company lost. When he could not participate in his “charity event” to avoid embarrassment, the beneficiaries or those who needed help the most also lost the most.

And if you still think this is “religious stuff”, be my guest….ask around. Study the contract breakers. List down their misery and tragedies. Believe me; there’s a long list of regrets that they keep once they realized they breached the contract.