te-bow, or not te-bow. . .

so there seems to be a lot of controversy about a particular football player named tim tebow, particularly about his faith, more specifically about his perceived over-zealousness for that faith.  now, it was just a matter of time before i had to interject my own take on the issue, especially when it's considered a controversial topic.

the first point of contention with mr. tebow is with a particular atheist group, saying that he is using his faith for publicity.  while i will say that his faith seems to have taken the spotlight as of recently, i do not believe it to be solely his own doing.  many players have been known for being devoutly CHRISTian, and have also been known for outward expressions of faith, particularly when accomplishing some feat, such as scoring touchdowns.  this is not purely a football phenomena, either.  we can see examples of the devout engaging in public displays of faith (pdf's) in baseball, basketball, and even golf!  so what makes mr. tebow any different than any of the other players engaging in pdf's?  to accurately examine this, we need only reference the question, "does man make history, or does history make the man?"  to break it down more, is mr. tebow the football player popular because he is a CHRISTian, or is mr. tebow the CHRISTian popular because he is a football player?  while you can argue both, i believe the correct answer lies in the second question.

mr. tebow has accomplished a significant amount during his career as a football player.  he currently holds records in his school, the sec, and the ncaa, along with being the first sophomore to win the prestigious heisman trophy.  he was a heisman finalist his junior and senior years in college as well.  it was there that he gained his notoriety for his faith when a reporter asked him about his sex life and mr. tebow replied that he was a virgin.  from there, the ncaa decided to ban writing on the eye-black that the players wore under their eyes, which became known as the "tebow rule", because he regularly had Bible verse references written on his.  there were other players that engaged in this as well, but tim tebow had been thrust to the forefront of the sports faith heroes category due to that earlier interview.  however, if mr. tebow had been a mediocre player or a 3rd string benchwarmer, there would have been no interview, and some other player would have been singled out for the eye-black controversy.  this principle carries over to today, with the current trend of "tebowing", that resulted from a picture taken of mr. tebow bowing in the end zone after scoring a touchdown.  this inspired people , both of faith and not of faith, to imitate the position, and became the craze of the week.  again, many players have bowed and pointed to heaven and carried out other gestures of faith when scoring touchdowns, but none have gained the notoriety that mr. tebow has.  was it because of the particular knee he used?  maybe if he would have bowed on his other knee, then it wouldn't have become such an issue?  no!  it is because he is a rookie quarterback, starting the year as back-up quarterback for the denver broncos, and has helped gain his team a spot in the playoffs.  i can guarantee you, if i was to walk up to a news camera and kneel down in front of it with my hands together in front of my chest, people would label me as a nutjob.  i can also guarantee you that it would go no further, and that the news station would not air it, other than for a good joke, and there sure wouldn't be any national craze called "westing"!  the simple fact is, mr. tebow is an accomplished football player, and that has been the spring board that has caused his faith to take center stage.

another recent article was written by none other than mr. big mouth, charles barkley, referring to tim tebow as a "national nightmare", because of the focus on his faith.  in a day when professional sports players regularly make headlines due to their many indiscretions (michael vick's electric dog salon, the michael irving cuff-em and stuff-em shuffle, or the brett favre greeting picturegram), the media has been waiting for someone like mr. tebow.  you can rest assured that the motivation there is not a pure one.  the same media that is focusing so hard on a rising star that is rooted in his faith, is licking their chops waiting to be the first one to get the scoop if he is caught in some compromising situation.  he is simply the flavor of the month for the news media.  if you notice, the sports media does not focus so much on his faith, but instead on the game winning touchdown he threw against the steelers.  rather, it is the news media that focuses on mr. tebow, the CHRISTian, and not mr. tebow the football player.

all that being said, i have to say that i admire tim tebow, although i personally do not care for the denver broncos.  whether he is genuine in his faith (which i believe he is), or whether it is all just a big publicity stunt, he is getting the gospel out there to people who might otherwise never hear it.  the Bible says that to whom much is given, much is required, and that it is required of a steward to be found faithful.  mr. tebow is using his notoriety to give glory to God, and we know that God will honor that, regardless of mr. tebow's motives.  after mr. tebow wrote "john 3:16" on his eye-black during the 2009 bcs championship game, the verse became the top search on google for the next 24 hours, racking up over 90 million searches!  subsequently, when he changed the verse to proverbs 3:5-6, it garnered 3.43 million searches.  mr. tebow is using the talent and resulting fame that God has blessed him with to reach untold millions for CHRIST.  next year, some other player will take the spotlight, and the controversy surrounding tim tebow will have died down.  the liberal media and the atheist community that want to strip CHRISTianity from society will find a new target to go after, and mr. tebow will become another quarterback like all the rest, that will finish out his career, and continue to inspire the faithful.  in the meantime, we as CHRISTians need to applaud people like mr. tebow and continue to lift him up in prayer.  pray that pride does not take root in his life as a result of the publicity, and pray that God places people in his life to keep him grounded in his faith, because you can bet that he is on the top ten list for satan and his minions.  they are going to try and place temptations in front of him, and to bring him down for the whole world to see.  so pray.  and follow tim tebow's example, and use whatever influence you may have, no matter how broad or how limited, to reach those around you for CHRIST.  be a faithful steward.