Tim Tebow's new job with the New England Patriots might be in jeopardy.
The photo on the left is one possible reason.
Many of you might not know this, but I am a graduate of The University of Oklahoma. The same OU that Tebow's Gators beat for the National Championship of college football many seasons ago.
I am not bitter that my school lost. I am not angry either. I am, however, convinced that the man upstairs has put the bad mojo on Tebow over something he did during this game.
Late in the contest, the Christian Tim Tebow looked at an OU player and very pridefully did the "Gator Chomp" in his face. No one said anything about it in the broadcast booth. Since then, all we have been told is that this "messiah in cleats" (look it up, if you don't believe me...) is pretty much the most near-flawless human being to walk the planet since.....__________ (you fill in the blank).
In the Bible there is a verse in James 4:6 that reads, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
And there it is.
I have told my sons - both fine athletes in their own right that this verse should be emblazoned in their minds in every game they play. After all, can you imagine your odds of success when God is your opponent?
I have never heard Tebow express remorse for this incident. He can say "God bless" at the end of every interview from here to rapture, but if he has not asked for forgiveness for this incredible display of pride and arrogance towards a fellow human being, I am afraid God will show up at the Patriots camp and keep Tebow's horrible throwing motion right where it is.
While I am at it, to all the rest of you athletes who so openly profess your love of Jesus - right after you dance around like a horses rear end in the endzone, you need to wise up too. First, God does not care that you can run with a football. Second, he does not want you bringing prideful attention to yourself and third (look it up), he wants you to pray in private for your good fortune rather than carry on like the Pharisees used to - you know, praying out in the open so everyone could admire them.
It is up to you now, Tim. I hope you get this right soon, otherwise it is going to be another long season for you.
Boooo!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou can delete my boooo. :-)
DeleteWe may not always agree on all subjects, but I totally agree with you on this one!
ReplyDeleteYou are a very wise man who teaches his children the right values.
Happy Fathers Day!
Thank you, Anneliese. I try.
DeletePride wears a lot of faces.
ReplyDeleteAnd I daresay, pride is perhaps most recognizable in others, rather than something we see in ourselves.
I'm grateful that God extends His grace to me through Christ, even when I'm prideful toward Him or toward others. God's opposition is too mighty to imagine; the mere threat of it pushes me in the direction of repentance and begging for His mercy, and yet even moments later I find myself taking His mercy for granted, forgetting who I really am and how little right I have to speak judgement on someone.
You know I think the world of you, Professor, but at the risk of playing your own game, I read pride within your judgement of Tebow.
I've nothing to add about his skills--I'll leave that to people who know what they're talking about. Nor do I wish to justify the crazy things media says about him, like calling him a messiah in cleats.
But Tebow is a man who makes much of Jesus. I do not know his motive, but I admire him for a faith that is not tucked away in a closet. The Bible is loaded with examples of men (like Peter and Paul and Moses and Jesus, for example) who prayed in public, not so that they might be admired, but so that God might be worshipped. The Tebow kneel may be less effective in its result, but I daresay it is a far cry from the Pharisees' stance.
Very well said, and thank you, Erik.
DeleteMy comments are meant more as a general statement to prideful displays by athletes than an indictment of Tebow. He is, however, a great example to use since he is more openly Christian than other folks are.