Football Prayer

I am decidedly not a football fan - not of Canadian football, and certainly not of the NFL. But an item on the news tonight did pique my interest. It was about Denver Bronco's quarterback Tim Tebow. Apparently he has been making waves. It's not only for leading his team on a winning streak and the fact that he was a mediocre player never expected to make it in pro football. It's because, in a milieu where people are rich in money and poor in values, he is a devout Christian and not afraid to show it. He prays publicly (so much so that people mimicking his standard pose are said to be “tebowing”) and paints references to Biblical verses under his eyes. He's more than a football player; he's a football prayer!

And I think that's awesome. Lately it doesn't seem to be very politically correct to be a Christian. We're supposed to be sensitive to and accommodating of every other religion but our own. So to see somebody being a role model to thousands (millions?) of kids - and adults - is wonderful. Most of us, myself included, are too shy to do much public professing of our faith; it's great to see someone who isn't.

Now of course I don't believe that God particularly cares about the outcome of a football game, but I do believe that He cares very much about Tim Tebow. And if he isn't praying to win, but rather to do his best and use the abilities he's been blessed with, then I don't see anything wrong with it. I don't think God will care much if the Bronco's go all the way to the Super Bowl either. But if even one person draws closer to Him because of Tim Tebow, that will be a far greater victory and a much better thing. Pro sports can be a pretty seedy and sordid world, so it's nice to see one person trying to make that world a little bit better. Who knows who he'll draw in through his actions. It even made a total football-hater like me interested!