By Peter
Well I figure that I might as well go ahead and write about the most provocative figures in the country today even though I know more than enough has been said about him already and much more is sure to come. I just can’t get over how polarizing he is and how obsessed the media has been in creating and fueling the never-ending debates we see or hear about everywhere we go. Everyone seems to have been sucked into it. Last week at church the topic was prayer and images we associate with it. Of course the picture of you-know-who was in there. More than 42 million people watched Sunday’s game and there were over 9,000 tweets per second about it during and after the game ended. People are now growing weary of the ridiculous attention he has been getting and wish that there could just be a separation of church and game.
While I agree that all the commotion is getting a bit overwhelming, I can’t help but be amazed at how this simple act of public prayer and attributing everything he does to God has stirred up this attention. There are plenty of athletes out there who pray and speak about their faith publicly but for some reason this guy is different. I’m sure there are plenty of other reasons, namely the actual job he does and the exciting finishes that somehow keep happening.
A lot of people might criticize him for praying ‘on the street corner’ and being too public about his faith but when Jesus criticized the Pharisees for this it was for being hypocritical and for doing it just to gain attention. I can’t say for sure that all the attention isn’t perpetuating him further but I do know that he had this faith and prayer habits before getting all the national attention and that his behavior off the field backs up what he is preaching. (If you are curious you should read Rick Reilly’s recent article about what happens after every game). I also know that in our culture we really like to separate our work from our play and especially from our religion or faith. Everything has its place. Well here we have on the nation’s stage a guy who refuses to categorize his life but lets his faith form his identity, no matter how much criticism he gets for it.
Peter, that was explained very smoothly, well done! I wonder if even he is getting tired of all of the attention that is focused on him simply because he loves the Lord. I have not followed Tebow at all, but I do not think that we should worry about all of the attention that he is receiving. Ultimately, as long as Tebow chooses to listen to the Holy Spirit and let his works be motivated by the call to glorify God then I think he is a-ok. And once something happens and he is revealed to be human, well, we are all human, so it should not be very shocking lol.
Peter, lets Tebow eachother!…just kidding. I think that you bring up a really good point. Tebow’s attention in my opinion is dangerous. With all this attention it seems like everyone is waiting for Tebow to mess up and prove that his is not the “good” Christian that he claims to be. I hope that Tebow continues to be humble despite all this attention and based off his track record, it seems like it will take a lot to bring Tebow’s faith down.
The story of Tebow reminds of the verse in 1 Peter:
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
(1 Peter 2:12 ESV)