Faith, Football and Tim Tebow

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I was going to start this post by saying I'm not one to put my faith on parade, but if you pay attention to my posts, the fact is that I am a man of faith. Tim Tebow displays his in a much more obvious way, and that is the truth behind the attacks on him.

People who are not sure what they believe are annoyed by people who have some confidence in their own convictions. Of course, there are non-Christians who are annoyed by the specific display, but those whose religion is irreligion as well as those who are not sure what they believe are offended because it's clear that Tebow is sure. Now, I haven't heard Tim Tebow claim that God is on his side or wants him to win or any of that other nonsense. God, quite frankly, isn't really all that interested in that sort of contest for the scoreboard. What he cares about is individual growth as a person by consequence of each play and player.

The truth is that there's far more anti-Christian bigorty out there than the other way around. People even of other Christian faiths attack me for mine even after people they know and trust defend my faith. Of course, we're also not the ones out there slaughtering people because they are infidels of faith (at least not today and not as a group). Shoot, there's really no such thing as "Christians" as a whole.

When you attend your worship services, remember that not everyone who worships with you shares your Faith. As President Obama likes to point out, he 'does not agree' with Jeremiah Wright's black liberation theology. There are lots of people who attend services to be seen in attendance, to check outfits, to socialize, to get a date, ad infinitum. Some will seek any excuse to avoid actually talking about Christ. They "draw near to Him with their lips while their hearts are far from Him". I have been saying for years that membership in the Kingdom of Christ depends far more on who has your heart than who has your records.

In his foundational work "Mere Christianity", CS Lewis says that: “The world does not consist of 100 percent Christians and 100 percent non-Christians. There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergymen. There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so." Just because someone self-identifies with some group or ideology doesn't mean that it's true any more than every criminal denies being at the scene of the crime means they weren't there. You tell on yourself by what you do.

Tebow tells us that God matters to him. Ok, so maybe on Sunday he was atwitter about the church social on Saturday night, but the preponderance of his behavior points to a higher purpose than Church Taco Night or a championship ring. He knows that the fact that he lives and breathes and has his being is by the grace of God and power of Christ. The media do not like that, because they are an arm of government. You see, "there is God and then there is government; God is bigger than government, and government doesn't like that (Inga Barks)".

People who believe that Tebow is polarizing are people who feel threatened by his beliefs. Tebow is not going out there thumping his bible or quoting scriptures or crying repentance. He is acknowledging the source of his talents, that our lives and our abilities are all on loan from God until He calls us home. It's far more offensive to me to watch people roast Tebow for his beliefs than it is that he bows his knee after every touchdown. Apparently, it's ok to be religious in America unless you are a Jew or a Christian. Be you. Do what you do. We still have the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience.

I've been praying publicly privately since 1994, and nobody who has even been bothered by that has amounted to a hill of beans in my life. Live what you believe, whatever that is, and if it is of good report and praiseworthy, it will exalt others and lead you together to greater truth, peace, and joy.