The Bible teaches that being rich can be a hindrance to knowing God and becoming a disciple of Jesus. But it is possible to be very rich and to put God first. Scottie Scheffler is a very successful golfer who has just won The Masters golf tournament, which is one of the 4 annual major tournaments. The prize money for the winner was nearly £3 million. It is the second time Scottie has won The Masters. When he first won The Masters, he was so stressed out on the final morning that he cried. His wife, Meredith, who is a strong Christian, told him: “If you win this golf tournament today, if you lose this golf tournament by 10 shots, if you never win another golf tournament again, I’m still going to love you. You are still going to be the same person, Jesus loves you, and nothing changes.”
Scottie was grateful for his wife’s wisdom and the Lord’s presence helped calm his nerves as he coolly chipped his way to the championship. He competed with an inner peace given to him by God. As he put on the green jacket given to Master’s tournament winners, Scottie spoke about his Christian faith, “All I’m trying to do is glorify God. That’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m in this position and so for me it’s not about a golf score. I need a Saviour and that’s probably one of the coolest things about our faith is recognizing your need for a Saviour. My faith affects all aspects of my life, not just my life on the golf course. The Lord has given me a skill and I’m trying to use it for his glory.”
When he was in Texas University Scottie “truly felt alone and didn’t know what to do.” He started attending church and began to give his heart to God. “Gradually with time he just started taking over my heart,” he recalls. “When I was growing up, I always thought God was this far away thing that just was there and was like the over watcher, like he just watched over and was controlling little things here and there. He might be real; he might not be real.”
Later he gave his heart completely to Jesus Christ. “In college that’s when I really felt a change when he takes hold of you and there’s so much peace and there’s so much comfort. He’s real, and he’s there, he loves us, he cares about us, and he has our best interests. He’s always reaching out for us. He’s the one holding on to us, and he’s always right there, and he’s always present, and he’s always hanging on to us. He never goes away.”