Tiger Woods was talented, clean-cut, charismatic, and generally well-liked. He broke records in the world of golf. His marriage to Elin Nordegren seemed like a fairy tale — two beautiful people with beautiful children. Then, according to the media, Tiger made some bad decisions. Lots of bad decisions involving adultery. One news outlet reported in April that his numerous affairs have cost him about $1 million per mistress. It’s cost him more than that. His game is off. He’s no longer the golden-boy of golf. His popularity is in the basement. And he’s lost Elin. Recently a news headline read, “Tiger says being a father is hard since his divorce.” It’s a classic case of a superstar thinking that the rules didn’t apply to him. It was nothing more, nothing less than, audacity.

Recently, three college students crossed a safety barricade at the top of Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park so they could have their photo taken. The result was not pretty. The swift-moving water of the falls caught them and dragged all three over the 317 foot cliff. It was a classic case of intelligent people thinking that they knew better than the experts. Sad to say, it was pure and simple audacity. It cost them their lives.

In 2009, a 54-year-old mountain climbing guide, was leading come climbers up a snow-capped mountain in his native New Zealand. Although the spot he was climbing had melting snow and ice and he, being a seasoned climber, did not take the normal precautions of belaying himself. You know what happened, right? It was a classic case of a seasoned veteran thinking he was smart enough to break the rules. It is pure and simple audacity.

All three of these stories connect with the podcast here — a message about a man who thought he knew better than anyone else, even better than Jesus.

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