So Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have officially divorced...the announcement was made on Tiger Woods' website yesterday.
There is no doubt a secrecy clause that Elin Nordegren had to sign, to entitle her to the huge alimony he must be giving her to keep quiet about events leading up to the accident that occurred, last November, outside their Florida home.
So what has Tiger Wood's cheating brought upon him?
1) The loss of sponsors...many of his sponsors "jumped ship" when it was revealed that Tiger had cheated with at least seven (7) women, on his wife.
They didn't want their brands associated with a cheater...someone who was dishonest with himself, his family, friends and associates...someone they feared would be a bad role model to kids.
(Athletes depend on sponsorships to make out-of-competition money).
2) Emotional distress...so much so that he had to go to counselling in December...to solve his "cheating problem" and so much so that he was constantly being sought out by the media, who wanted to find out his every move and statement...so as to continue to create headlines.
...Which itself added its own set of distresses.
3) Loss of a wife...his wife has finally divorced him...she will no longer be there to comfort him when he has a bad day/week.
4) Loss of time with his children...he now has to co-share parenting time with his ex-wife...so he gets the children for some months in the year and she gets them for other months
5) Loss of respect from his wife, her family, his golfing associates, his friends, his fans
6) Loss of confidence in his ability to retain the "No.1 Golfer in the World" title:
Tiger's game has deteriorated since the embarrassing incident and revelations which followed...he has even changed coaches to try to regain the form he once had.
Let this be a lesson to all spouses who are thinking of cheating or who are already cheating.
What you are doing will come to light and sometimes the way it's revealed will bring embarrassment to not only you, but your family in the short to long term.
The Bible promises "Be sure your sin will find you out"...meaning the sins you do in private, will be exposed. (Numbers 32:23b
If you are in a relationship and are having problems...try to sort it out...
If you are in a relationship and are having problems...try to sort it out...
If you know that you have put everything into resolving the issue and it isn't working...then you may just have to walk away.
Cheating is one of the sins:
1) Committed against your body...which is pledged to your spouse only...(1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
2) Committed against your spouse's body, as you bring the persons you've cheated with, into the bedroom with your spouse.
Cheating/adultery:
1) Is considered so seriously by God, that it's the only sin that, when committed, He allows your spouse to divorce you for. In fact it's the only condition under which God permits remarriage, when divorced. (Matthew 5:31-32)
2) Doesn't reflect badly on your spouse, it reflects badly on you. By cheating you tell your spouse, children, family, friends and associates that you are not to be trusted.
By cheating you unconsciously tell your children that other people are not to be trusted and you also encourage them to be untrustworthy.
So think twice, thrice and four times before desecrating your marriage vows...as Tiger Woods has found out...it really isn't worth it in the long run.
[I would like to thank truelovenverends2626 for the use of his Flickr inset photo of Tiger Woods and his family, in happier times.
It shows his daughter Sam, his now ex-wife, Elin, himself and his baby Charlie and his dogs Yogi (L) and Taz(R). It was taken on February 17,2009].
Gillian
Sources Include
1) Article, "Tiger Woods divorce: how his golf has suffered", by Nick Allen, Telegraph.co.uk, August 24, 2010
2) Article,"Tiger Woods, wife officially divorced", by Doug Ferguson,Associated Press (Ap) Golf Writer, via Yahoo News, August 23,2010
3) Article, "Gatorade sinks Tiger Woods sponsorship", Reuters -US Edition, February 26, 2010
4) Article, "Golfers knew about Tiger Woods' cheating on wife Elin Nordegren, but Helen Alfredsson breaks silence", by Corky Siemaszko, December 23,2009
