LLLV19 7-18-2019 Golf Legend Bobby Jones on Character
Browsing around I came across an interesting note on the word character. The information condensed to its quintessential form comes down to this:
“A person’s essential qualities.” I have no idea as to the author. Here’s another, often quoted, but again the author remains anonymous. Please read it over a few times, as I will then share a true story of a famous athlete’s demonstration of character:
"Character is what you do when nobody is watching. Character is how you treat people who can do absolutely nothing for you. Character is how you react when the pressure is on. Character is deciding beforehand that you are going to do the right thing."
Did the above get a hold of you? It sure grabbed me. Here’s the Bobby Jones story.
Bobby Jones was one of the greatest golfers ever to compete, uniquely known for winning the "Grand Slam" of golf winning all four major tournaments in the U.S. and Britain in a single year. In 1925, early in his career, having reached the final playoff in the U.S. Open, at a certain point in the match, Jones was setting up to strike his ball which was in the rough just off the fairway. His iron accidentally touched the ball. He immediately became angry with himself, turned to the marshals, and called a penalty on himself.
But the marshals had not seen the ball move, so they left the decision to Jones, whether to invoke the penalty -- a two-stroke penalty. Bobby called the penalty on himself, not knowing that he would lose the tournament by a single stroke.
When praised for his honesty, he replied, "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank!"
Jones may have lost the tournament, but his character was legendary, and today the United States Golf Association's award for sportsmanship is known as the "Bobby Jones Award."
Many Christians must, I mean, must, cooperate with the Word and Holy Spirit to become men and women of Character. Another word meaning much the same is integrity. The world around us is watching, listening, and judging, in their minds, if what we are showing them is genuine or a “put on.”
Solomon wrote:
Proverbs 11:3 “The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.” (NKJV).
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