“The more you possess, the less you own of yourself.”
–Laozi, ancient Chinese philosopher

Scottie Scheffler, professional golf’s number one player in the world, recently made news. Yes, he won the Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. But, no, that’s not what I’m talking about. It was what he said in an interview the week leading up to the tournament that shocked some of the golf world.

Scheffler said, “What’s the point of being number one? . . . golf doesn’t fill the deepest places of my heart . . . it’s not the most important thing in my life.” What? That’s golf heresy!

But for him, and for all believers, faith and family are most important. And in the end, even family is temporary. Faith is eternal. It wears a cloak of permanency.

Think about it. When we reach the pinnacle of our profession, when our retirement accounts are flush with cash, when we finally get that house, or second house, or high-end car we’ve always wanted, does that fulfill the deepest places of our hearts? I would guess most of us would answer, “No, not really.”

Most things we want, or think we “need,” are self-fulfilling. We feel good, but quickly want more, or we hurry on to the next thing. The Bible teaches us that focusing on self is wrong. When we become self-centered, it puts us at risk of embracing pride, one of the most dangerous and tempting of all sins.

There’s an old saying we’re all familiar with: “Pride comes before the fall.” An even older quote, from which it came, is Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (NIV).” In other words, when we get too full of ourselves or our possessions, trouble lurks around the next turn.

By rights, Scottie could flaunt his dominance in professional golf. No one else is close, and comparisons to Tiger’s heyday are valid. Yet, he responds, “What’s the point?” Yes, he enjoys the practice, the competition, and the challenge, but when he wins, a couple minutes later, he and everyone else begin focusing on what’s next. No win, no possession, no amount of money, no “insert for yourself,” is ever enough.

I’ll paraphrase Luke 12: 16-21, the Parable of the Rich Fool: A successful farmer’s work yielded so many crops he didn’t know what to do with them. Share them? No. He opted to keep them all for himself, building bigger barns to store the grain. While he was resting on his laurels, God paid him a visit, accused him of being a fool, and told him his life would end that night.

A modern version of the parable was once offered by the Rev. Billy Graham, “America’s Pastor.” He said, “I’ve officiated many, many funerals, but I’ve never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul trailer!” Oh, how that hurts. The truth often does.

I know I have friends and loyal readers who aren’t believers, and I respect your right to disagree. But I would respectfully ask, “In what do you put your trust? Are you okay with no concept of, or belief in, permanency, eternity?”

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . (Matthew 6: 19-20 NIV).” For believers like Scheffler, that’s the bottom line, and we can take that belief to the bank!