World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler has said that winning or being a champion does not “fulfil the deepest desires of my heart”. The Christian golfer with a trophy in hand, he told reporters, “Am I grateful for it? Do I enjoy it? Oh my gosh, yeah, this is a cool feeling. I can’t wait to get home and celebrate this Championship with the people who have helped me along. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t fulfill the deepest desires of my heart. It can make you happy for a few moments, maybe a few days. I play golf to glorify God, my identity is neither golf nor the trophies, but my Lord Jesus Christ.” (Premier Christian News, 21 July 2025)
Vanity and futility: Vanity means vapour or breath; it can also be understood as meaninglessness, emptiness, pointless, purposeless, or that amounts to nothing. Vanity also means fleeting or temporary; examples are physical beauty, wealth, fame, and even life, when compared to eternity. Paul writes that all creation was subjected to vanity because of God’s curse due to the Fall of Adam and Eve. However, the creation would be set free from the curse ultimately. (Romans 8:20-21) Vanity prevails in humans in the form of pride, envy, strife, arrogance, violence, and revenge. Only those who die to self could become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy meaning and purpose in life.
Reality and Eternity: There is no profit or gain, even if a person could have the whole world, but loses his soul. (Matthew 16:26) God has placed eternity in the hearts of men to seek what is eternal. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) However, most people are sucked into the pressures of the present, the pleasures of now, and engage in instant gratification of cravings. There is no knowledge or desire, or longing for life beyond death. Disciples of the Lord, like Paul, desire to be absent from this body, so that they can be with the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:8)
Do I long for eternal rewards and an unfading crown from the Lord?