A Masterful Message about the Master's Winner's Master

I have to admit that I watched all of 0 holes of The Masters this weekend. Now knowing what I know about winner Bubba Watson, I kind of wished I would have watched a hole or two. Here's a brief article describing Bubba's faith. It first points out that there is something different about his twitter profile.

Rather, take one look at his Twitter profile and you may figure out what's different about Watson.

@bubbawatson: Christian. Husband. Daddy. Pro Golfer. Owner of General Lee 1.

And pay close attention to the order.

I'm not normally a fan of measuring the spiritual commitment of a Christian by his/her twitter profile or by the number of times he/she posts scriptures on facebook. It's one's life of repentance and faith that truly testifies to one's Savior. And the rest of this lad's life gives credence to the response all Christians should: graciously giving testimony to the One who saved you.

Later in the article, he "tweets" a properly prioritized life

Later that day: Most important things in my life- 1. God 2. Wife 3. Family 4. Helping others 5. Golf  

This is incredibly helpful advice for the suburban Christian who often lives his/her life as  as though God exists to make his/her family better. Going to church should make his/her family better. It should "work."

But the reality is that following Jesus before our families means that we'll do stuff that won't necessarily make our families "better." Saying no to sports that interfere with regular church involvement might will probably not make your kids better at that sport. Saying no to expected cultural events or gatherings because there are better things to do will not make your family "better" or more popular. Sometimes saying yes to Jesus will not make our families happier because when we follow Jesus we lead our families into the uncomfortable unknown. We give up things good things to follow Jesus and do better things. I know for some it has meant giving up a vacation one year to go on mission trip (not saying one should do this as I think we need vacations too). Can you see that following Jesus looks like something? Cherishing Jesus looks like something as you gladly sacrifice (Phil 3:8-9). 

Consequently prioritizing your family above Jesus also looks like something. That's not hard to see among many suburban Christians, whose priorities don't look too different than their neighbor's families. I find myself following into the latter category when I forget the gospel. Regularly coming back to the gospel each day will motivate and empower you to prioritize Jesus above your family.

If God is number one, then quickly the family slips into the two slot. But Bubba is on to something here. The sacrificial husband commanded in Ephesians 5 cannot stop being sacrificial when he has kids. Kids don't get bumped up on the priority list. It takes much intentionality to fight, protect, and even cherish your spouse, but it is paramount that you do so. Remember that your marriage is one of the best gifts you can give to your children.

The more I write this, the more bummed I get about missing Bubba's Masters performance. But I get the sense that he'd probably be OK with me being more impacted by his message than his performance.