Pastor Steve’s Blog Jan 6, 2019 As we start out the New Year, I want to share this inspirational thought about “the true standard of success.” “Bobby Jones, one of golf’s greatest players, was only 5 years old when he first swung a golf club. By the age of 12, he was winning golf tournaments. During this time, he was known for his hot temper, and he soon had the nickname “Club Thrower.” Jones became friends with a man named Grandpa Bart, who worked part-time in the club pro shop. Bart had been an excellent golfer but had retired when arthritis gripped his hands. After Bobby lost the National Amateur Tournament at the age of 14, he said, “Bobby, you are good enough to win that tournament, but you’ll never win until you can control that temper of yours. You miss a shot---you get upset---then you lose.” Bobby knew Grandpa Bart was right, and he became determined to improve---not his golf swing---but his mood swings. When Bobby won a major tournament at age 21, Grandpa Bart said, “Bobby was 14 when he mastered the game of golf, but he was 21 when he mastered himself.” Records are always established in relationship to other people’s performance, but the true “standard of success” is established within the competitor. Let your “standard of success” be one that includes controlling your temper and taming your tongue. As a leader, you will be setting a Godly example for others to follow.” James 1:19-20 (KJV): “My beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” “God’s Little Lessons for Leaders.” Tulsa, OK: Honor Books, 2001, p. 9.