Mom used to quote Isaiah 64, about waiting on the Lord [Possibly Isaiah 64.4]. It doesn’t mean being complacent. It means understanding that he has a plan, and that we’re not the ones in control. In the meantime, we need to strive to use our gifts and abilities fully.
— Tim TebowBuona sera. I'm feeling left out. So many other people are talking about Tim Tebow, and I haven't done it yet. I don't even watch football much, but I guess it's time for my two grotzits worth.
First, I'll state what most people seem to know: Tim Tebow is a well-liked quarterback for the American football team called the Denver Broncos (I put the extra bit in there for the sake of international readers, Norman). He is reasonably successful, but I've heard it said that he's not great, he has room for improvement.
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| John 3.16 Tebow threw for 316 yards, averaging 31.6 yards per play. Cool, huh? |
There are other Christians in professional football, and in other professional sports. I guess the big deal is that Tebow "wears his religion on his sleeve"; that is, he is very open about his beliefs. He praises the Lord frequently (even during games), kneels before games, is vocal about his faith in interviews and so forth. Fans love him, and religious bigots hate him (anti-Christian bigotry is acceptable in this otherwise politically correct climate).
He appears to stand for what he believes, but the nay-sayers pretend to know his thoughts and motives, calling him a hypocrite, showboat, phony and other things. I've got news for you: If you don't like it, do something else! One caller to a radio program was whining because he wanted to see a game, not his "religious" stuff. Bad news, Beauregard, you still get all of your game. The guy has his faith, he briefly expresses it (there are no long sermons or anything). There is still freedom of religion and freedom of expression in this country — until haters like the Freedom from Religion try to foul this up for decent people, too.
Christian-bashing is the current fad. Tebow has to put up with mockery from other players, ridicule from Saturday Night Live, as well as typical abuse from anti-Christian bigots like Bill Maher and others. (What would happen if blacks or Muslims were displaying their religions, or if Tebow was a Muslim himself, would there be such open displays of bigotry? I doubt it.) Yet, Tim Tebow is acting — well, like a Christian about it.
We have a God-honoring man in professional football, and he is a role model for kids. Some people resent being role models, but it comes with the territory. "With great power comes great responsibility" is true. And being in the public eye brings great responsibility. I seem to recall that when Tom Baker was The Doctor, he acted like (my words here) an ambassador, because people knew him as a "civilian" as well as a character on TV.
Addendum:
Addendum:
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| Gene Simmons, lead singer of KISS, was motivated to say something. |
Does God care who wins? I doubt it. Should people pray for victory? I doubt that, too. What I did learn long ago was that players should pray that they do their best and that they honor God on and off the field. After all, they are ambassadors of their team — and of Christ (2 Corinthians 5.20).
I hope that people will not put Tim Tebow on such a pedestal that when (not "if") he shows human frailty and weakness, they will forgive him for being human! There was only one man who never sinned, capice (Hebrews 4.15, Romans 1.4)? Tell me, though, how does Tebow act when his team loses, or he fouls up in his game? That is where he can set his greatest example.
There have been some interesting discussions of the Tim Tebow phenomenon. At this writing, the latest one is by radio talk show host Chris Plant. I don't know how long the link works, but you can listen to the MP3 of the show, and some interesting comments by callers, from about 37 minutes into the show, here. Also, J. Warner Wallace has some comments at the Please Convince Me podcast. Addendum 2: J.D. Curtis at Trees for Lunch has some good material on this topic as well.
