WWW.TOTHENEXTLEVEL.ORG

Keeping Your Word

by Doug Reese TTNL

Tiger Woods is no doubt the best golfer right now in the world. In the early months of 2000, Woods was in the midst of a winning streak that was almost incomprehensible.

Tiger Woods had won six straight PGA events! In that period of time Woods had beaten 623 other golfers and had won over 5 million dollars.

Woods having achieved this when no other PGA tour golfer had won four events in a row since the 1950's. The seventh event scheduled on Woods itinerary was the Torry Pines in San Diego, CA. When Woods was the hottest in his young carreer, he kept a promise he had made earlier to a junior high school buddy three months before and let him caddie in San Diego. It is hard to believe isn't it? When you are in a groove and hot, you don't want anything to change in your routine, yet Woods benched his regular caddie in favor of his gangly 24-year-old friend, who was trying to earn a little money for medical school.

With the title on the line, let alone big money, Tiger Woods stuck to his word. He put it all on the line for a promise he made to a friend. Woods could have said, "Not right now, let's do it another time," or "Hey, buddy how much do you need? I'll write you a check." No, Tiger stuck to his word.

Athletic Principle

Are you a person of integrity and character who follows through and keeps your word? Your words and your actions that follow are important indicators of your heart, they show your true character.

Athletes have you been true to your coaches?

Did you fulfill your duty to train in the off-season?
Did you run and work your cardiovascular system consistently?
Did you make it into the weight room three times a week to develop your strength and endurance?
Did you practice and compete while giving 100 percent of what you had, no matter what the score or what the situation?
Did you do what your coaches asked of you?
Have you honored your contract/scholarship?

Coaches have you been true to your athletes?

Have you taught skills and techniques with passion?
Have you been fair and just to all your athletes?
Have you been true to helping all your athletes reach their full athletic potential?
Do you make each athlete feel important?
Do you care for each of them as if they were the best athlete on your team?
Do you make time for them away from the athletic arena?

Many times the answer from our lips to these questions is "yes," but our hearts tell us "no." We don't follow through on our word. We don't keep our word. Promises must be kept, deadlines must be met, commitments honored, not for the sake of morality, but because we become what we do or fail to do. Character is the sum of all that.

God's Performance Principle

Jesus teaches "Do not break your oath (promise), but keep the oaths you made to the Lord. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' be 'No." (Matthew 5:33, 37) When you make an unfulfilled promise a number of things happen to you:

You sin by lying, not only to the person you made your promise to, but also to God.
It weakens your character and it lessens your integrity. Respect will be lost as well as trust.
You make excuses. You try to justify yourself, but what happens is you start adding to your original lie.
You fall short and don't achieve all that was possible.

Our goal is to be a person of "word and action." We don't simply say we will do it, but we do, do it. We do it with a love, a passion and a fire in our hearts, to do the best job possible to honor Jesus Christ!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Colossians 3:23)

"When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said." (Numbers 30:2)