Keep on Bowing Down

I think I might actually be glad that the Denver Broncos lost their playoff game with the New England Patriots last weekend.  Not that I am a Patriots fan.  On the contrary, I wasn’t rooting for them at all.  I wanted the Broncos to win primarily because I wanted Tim Tebow to succeed.

Whether you pay much attention to sports or not, if you are not aware of Tim Tebow, you haven’t been paying attention. The general consensus is that he is a good guy and a gifted athlete who somehow manages to have success even though he doesn’t have the particular skills to be a really great NFL quarterback.  

 That’s where consensus stops.

He also happens to be one of the most outspoken Christian athletes we have ever seen.  In our culture, that leads to controversy, not consensus.  It really bugs a lot of people when he talks about Jesus at every opportunity.  It bugs a lot of people that he is constantly bowing in prayer on the football field—so much that “Te-bowing” has become a worldwide phenomenon.  

 The great John Elway who is now in charge of operations for the Broncos team he quarterbacked to two Super Bowl wins in five appearances, has suggested that faith and football don’t mix.  Even some other well-known Christian athletes have suggested that Tebow’s expressions may be a little over the top.

 Our culture likes our entertainers (yes, professional athletes are entertainers) to entertain.  It’s admirable to strut, chest bump, taunt, engage in outlandish behavior on and off the field, and then apologize and go into rehab.  It’s ok to be a person of faith and conviction.  Just be nice about it and don’t talk about it too much.  After all, does God really care who wins a football game?  And aren’t these guys really phony anyway?

 One of my favorite quotes from recent years comes from the brilliant Christian thinker, Ravi Zacharias. “The charge of hypocrisy is the compliment vice pays to virtue.”  I might add “excessiveness” to “hypocrisy”.  We sometimes don’t like those overt expressions of faith because it reminds us of the shallowness of our own.  

 So, with the blow-out win of the Patriots on Saturday, what are you going to do now, Mr. Tebow?

 "What I pray before games, during games, after games, is regardless whether I win, whether I lose, whether I'm the hero or the goat, that it doesn't matter, that I still honor the Lord because He's deserving of it, and just like my effort shouldn't change, neither should that. So that's how I try to approach it, and sometimes even in a loss you can honor Him more. For me, I pray that my character and who I am doesn't change even though you can be dejected, you can still feel hurt, you can be disappointed, but you can still honor the Lord with how you handle things."

 That sounds like someone who has really figured out that his life matters to God.  I wanted him to win the game, but I’m glad we got to see what happened when he didn’t.

 Keep on bowing down, whether anyone is looking or not.