Tiger Woods' Error?
by Morris Inch(7)The participants in a recent talk show referred to Tiger Woods' unfaithfulness to his wife as an error. The term error is by definition an unintentional wrong. As when a person attempts to be of help, but compounds the problem.
Woods' appraisal was quite different. He indicated that his behavior violated the Buddhist training he had received as a youngster. Most faiths would concur.
He also allowed that he had been involved in extended counseling to deal with his disposition. Now I quite agree that the professional counselor plays a legitimate role. My own training in this area has helped alert me to when I should refer someone to an individual with further qualifications.
Conversely, there is no guarantee that professional counseling with deal sensitively with theological matters. Some years ago a friend of my wife and I turned to a counselor to help her deal with depression. She was shocked when the counselor advised her to forget about God, and she would be well on her way to recovery. The counselor supposed this was a proper way to deal with the adverse effects of guilt feelings.
Don Tweedie combines a clinical expertise with a Christian orientation. In his text Christian Logotherapy, he elaborates on Victor Frankl's counseling techniques in a Christian context. In a more popular vein, he wrote The Christian and the Couch.
I was once approached by an undergraduate who informed me that he had given up his plans to study for the ministry. It seems that whenever he became excited, he would begin to stutter. When I asked him what he had done to rectify the problem, he indicated that he had made it the subject of earnest prayer. Observing that God works through different means, I suggested that he confer with Tweedie. Within a matter of days his stuttering began to clear up, allowing him to continue with his original plans.
Although he made a public apology, Woods indicates that the only apology his wife will accept is that he change his ways. He, moreover, seems intent of doing so. We wish them well, and pray to that end. (You are welcome to visit my publication website: http://www.ourchurch.com/member/p/publications.)
Article submitted Friday, March 05, 2010 & read 183 times.
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