Posted on 04/20/2010 6:53:46 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
What would Jesus say to Tiger Woods and Jesse James?" posed the pastor of a Texas megachurch.
Addressing the recent celebrity scandals and adulterous affairs that have been adorning tabloids and magazines for the past several months, Pastor Kerry Shook of Woodlands Church challenged the congregation not to cast any more stones than have already been thrown.
"A lot of people have been throwing rocks at Tiger Woods and Jesse James," Shook said, alluding to the New Testament account of the adulterous woman the Pharisees wanted to have stoned.
"I'm not going to pick up another stone and add to what's happening here," he said Sunday, noting the gossip and water cooler talk surrounding the scandals.
Shook, author of bestselling book One Month to Live, began a message series earlier this month titled "Sacred," teaching the thousands at his megachurch about treating what is uniquely valuable as uniquely valuable rather than common.
Sexual intimacy is one of those gifts that seems to have lost its sacredness in society today, he noted.
"Most people treat God's sacred gift of sexual intimacy as common, casual, no big deal when God says it's to be treated as an uncommon, beautiful, wonderful, valuable, sacred gift in the marriage relationship," said Shook.
While sexual intimacy within marriage is beautiful and for the couple's enjoyment, outside of marriage it is destructive, the pastor pointed out.
Answering the curious question raised at the start of his sermon, Shook said, "I think Jesus would say to Tiger Woods and Jesse James and to me and to you 'I don't condone your sin. In fact, your sin is the reason why I had to go to a cross and die an excruciatingly painful and humiliating death on a Roman cross.
"'But I don't condemn you. I offer you forgiveness.'"
Famed golfer Woods and James, who builds custom motorcycles and is married to actress Sandra Bullock, have been on the hot seat since shocking allegations of infidelity surfaced. Each celebrity has allegedly had a number of mistresses and divorce is reportedly looming for both.
Amid the ongoing reports and public interest in the stories, Shook chose to address the matter for his message on "Sacred Love and Sex."
"What better way to show God's relevance than to pick something that's on the front page of every tabloid in America," the Woodlands pastor commented in a statement.
Before being quick to judge the celebrities, Shook reminded the congregation that all sin is sin to God, whether it is physically acted out or not.
"We always judge these ... outward sins that are so salacious," he said. "Everybody gossips; ... it makes us feel better about ourselves. But the sins of the heart (i.e. lust) are just as destructive, Jesus says."
"There are different consequences for different sins. There's no doubt," he noted. "The sins that these two guys have committed are really bringing about some terrible consequences, especially for their families and for themselves.
"[But] we can't compare ourselves. It keeps us from working on issues in our own lives."
"I just hope that we understand that every one of us need to work on our own lives," he underlined.
Addressing the general crowd, Shook preached on the readiness of God to forgive.
"Whenever you commit adultery or a sin like that that hurts, destroys marriage, you come to God and ask for forgiveness. He forgives instantly and He starts restoring your life instantly," Shook preached. "But it takes time to build trust back."
"We need to come to God for forgiveness because we're all sinners."
Woodlands Church is a multi-site church with more than 16,000 weekly attendees.
I pointed that out as a response to a comment on Digg. The atheists over there buried to the comment to -20 or so.
He’d probably say “Go and sin no more” like he told the adulteress in the bible.
I would agree she should have done some of that, but I'm sure it wouldn't always be the best thing to do, i.e. when the kids were still in school and so forth.
Her not traveling with him is no excuse for his behavior.
Tiger is totally and utterly at fault?
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Yes. Your wife not traveling with you while you are on tour IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO CHEAT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
Sorry to yell, but your continued opining as you have leads me to believe it was necessary.
If a wife is not there for her husband; he will find someone else who will be. Girlfriend, hooker, co-worker, stranger in a bar. That's a fact of life, like it or not. Elin opted to not be with her husband, a husband who is young, athletic, rich, famous and attractive (doesn't do a thing for me, but I'm a straight man).
If she won't be there for him, for love, companionship and sharing ... apparently you, and she both expect your husbands to accept his role as a possession and simply 'deal with it'. Welcome to planet Earth. Expect to have your heart broken.
I'm afraid that if you think this tract is what is going to happen in the 'real world'; then you are both gravely mistaken, and have set yourself up for a lot of heartache. Men have needs, and if you are unwilling to fulfill his needs - expect him to find someone else who will. This is exponentially true if he is rich, young, attractive and famous.
And yet, according to the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, approximately 50 percent married women and 60 percent of married men will have an extramarital affair at some time in their marriage.
So, scream and shout all you like, but it is you (not I) that is refusing to accept reality.
Did you stay at expensive resorts, with millions in the bank? Did you ejoy the celebrity status that Tiger enjoys? Did attractive women show up at your hotel room?
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Your point, until now, has been the Elin bore some responsibility for not making herself available to him for sex, so because of opportunity, he got sexed some other way. The subtext was that lack of marital sex + opportunity = cheating. Money was not part of your equation.
Many of us men have traveled. The opportunity is there. And we don’t cheat. Why? Why not? You’ve not really addressed that in your myriad comments on this topic.
Let me help. The reason that some men cheat is because they are aholes. The reason I never have is that my vows meant something to me. My wife and I have, in the course of our 20+ years of marriage, gone through some, uh, dry spells. I play music in bars routinely, when my wife is home in bed. But the lack of sex + the obvious opportunity (bars at 2am scream opportunity, especially if you’re the front man in the band) did not equal cheating.
Something is a bit off in your calculus. And that is simple. Tiger is 100% at fault for HIS behavior. Your fairy tale notion that Elin withholds sex is a) completely made up by you (she does sometimes travel with him as the pictures of them together post tourney attest), and b) completely inconsequential to Tiger’s breaking of the marriage vows he uttered.
If she won’t be there for him, for love, companionship and sharing ... apparently you, and she both expect your husbands to accept his role as a possession and simply ‘deal with it’.
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LOL. I’m a husband married once, for over 20 years now. I guess you think that the only gender who finds Tiger 100% responsible for his behavior is the female of the species.
Wrong again. As you have been for much of the thread, IMHO.
And yet, according to the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, approximately 50 percent married women and 60 percent of married men will have an extramarital affair at some time in their marriage.
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Your source for the info is really, really funny.
Lindsay Richardson
Info guru, Catalogs.com *
I submit and relent to the obviously unimpeachable source you have provided. Not.
* Lindsay is a freelance article writer and full time e-commerce writer.
Wrong guess. I’ll repeat it again.
This was 100% predictable, and perhaps 15% preventable.
Was Tiger in the wrong? Yup, he was. But a portion of the fault also lies with his wife. Have you ever met a couple who divorced, in which there was not some blame to be place on both parties? So, if Tiger is 100% responsible, then Elin bears no responsibility in this train-wreck at all. I think that a portion (granted, a small portion) of the fault lies with Elin.
I don’t accept that. Why was he cheating? We know that he was often gone for months at a time, alone in a resort. Now, with his net worth - don’t tell me that Elin couldn’t afford a plane ticket. Why was she content to ignore him?
It’s no surprize that the public knows he is wealthy, young, attractive and left to be by himself for extended periods of time. So, yell at me if you like; but the studies I have shown bear my statements out pretty much 100%, as does the good Dr. Laura.
If Elin won’t be a wife to her husband; then he WILL find someone (or a group of someones) who will. And again, this is exponentially true for the rich and famous. He had to make no effort to look for company, I think we both know that it would be freely offered, on pretty much a daily basis.
Now, ask yourself - if you had $450 Million in the bank; and you had to be in Hawaii for a month for business; would you have your wife join you?
Fine, then take your pick of any of these ...
OK. Perhaps we’re both so intent on making our own point that we are talking past each other.
You want to focus on Elin and what she has or has not done. Fine. Then do the research to determine how many times she did travel with him (she most certainly has on a number of occasions), and not just opine as you have, that she has chosen not to be a wife to him. You are assuming facts not in evidence, to quote a phrase.
My focus has been solely on Tiger. Sure. Guys with little or no integrity will cheat on their wives. The numbers do not surprise me, as they really are nothing new. People cheat. But Tiger clearly lacks integrity, and that is not on Elin.
Tiger is 100%, completely, and solely responsible for the choices he makes. Elin available for sex or no, Tiger is responsible for his actions. Taking the light off of him and his choices just provides him (incredibly weak) cover.
I take some issue with your comparison of divorce to cheating. In a marriage relationship, I agree that it is rarely one person totally responsible for the breakup of the marriage when it does break up. But we’re not talking about divorce. Sex, outside of the marriage bed, is an entirely different animal, as he had to violate his wedding vows to make it happen. Elin had no part in that decision. It relates to Tiger’s cheating, he had choices, and he chose to violate his wedding vows. That is 100% on him.
Oh, I don't know, let's take a leap...might he say, "Go, and sin no more?" This guy brings to mind the same words that d@mnable so-called leader of the ELCA does...get thee behind me, Satan.
IMHO, she had her life set (Millions in the bank, her lifestyle fully funded, kids, she never has to lift a finger the rest of her life - not bad for a bikini-model has-been). Once she had what she wanted, she didn’t care whether Tiger lived or died. Her needs were met, and that’s all that mattered. Now, she can take Millions, and play the victim .... her perfect ‘checkmate’...
You know this, how?
You know this...how?
It is pointless to argue with some people. Really and truly a waste of time and breath.
Can you produce proof that Tiger asked Elin to come with him and she refused? Can you produce proof that she refused him sex? Can you produce any proof of your theory?
Good luck getting an answer....;)
The fact that he was alone, for weeks at a time is just a part of what we know. The fact that Elin was fully capable of joining him at any time she wanted to, is also known. I doubt you’ld dispute that - it’s not like she couldn’t afford to buy a plane ticket, or rent a private Lear at a moment’s notice. They have TWO nannies, one for each child. Heaven forbid Mommy actually bother raising her own kids.
She’s not a movie star, with a career. She’s an ex-swimsuit model, who scored big by marrying a multi-millionaire. She had a couple kids, and now she’s set for life. That’s no secret either.
So, why then would she not go to a hell-hole like Hawaii? I mean, suffering in a bombed out resort in the tropics is certainly our ideal of suffering, isn’t it? Why didn’t she go there, if for no other reason than to support her husband while he competed to win tournaments that finance her lifestyle? As for travelling with kids .. c’mon, they have Au Pairs to raise the kids. Heaven forbid that Mommy actually be a Mommy ... that’s for us lesser folk.
But, consider ... Tiger’s job is stressful; his success, his endorsements are contingent upon winning tournaments. Why was his wife content to sit around at home, instead of actually being a PARTNER in the marriage and supporting her husband when he needed moral support? Again, it’s not like she was finding a cure for cancer - she has two nannies and two kids. She does whatever she wants to do, and apparently nothing else.
You make many leaps. Have you thought of playing for the NBA?
What leaps?
Are you saying that Tiger and Elin do NOT have nannies?
Are you saying that Elin has a career that prevents her from joining Tiger for his tournaments?
Are you saying that you believe that a Golf Pro shows up the day before a tourneyment, and plays the course for the first time during the tournement?
Are you saying that playing a Pro Golf tourneyment isn’t stressful?
Are you saying that a wife doesn’t belong with her husband, while he’s earning a living?
Are you saying that her time is better spent monitoring her nannies while they raise her kids?
Are you saying that Tiger does not stay at the most premium resorts, and does not play the Tournament Golf Course at least once a day, every day for nearly a month before the actual Tournament starts?
What leaps am I making? A successful marriage is a PARTNERSHIP. I see little or no partnership type behavior on the part of Tiger’s wife.
Again, is Tiger wrong? Yup. But, did Elin have a part in this whole mess .... IMHO, absolutely.
This was 100% predictable, and perhaps 15% preventable.
If my wife was making the money Tiger was making, and I was not working .... you can rest assured that I would be joining my wife (with the kids) at every opportunity. To keep her from cheating? Nope... because she’s my best friend. I’m there to help her when she’s discouraged, to reassure her when she falls, to help her relax; to be her husband. And that means that I stand with her, her burdens are my burdens. That’s NOT what I saw in this situation.
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