Tim Tebow and the Bible

[HKHaugan]

In the last article on Tim Tebow I promised a follow-up that would be biblical so read on.

If you listen to sports shows at all you will hear the emotional debates about the talents of Tim Tebow and most of the comments are negative. As I mentioned in the last article on him it has to do with a culture that has determined the pocket passer is the new ‘orthodox’ standard by which football is to be played on the professional level. There is no question that over the past decades this has been the emergent paradigm or mindset of that league. Almost all of the present managers, owners and coaches have bought into this philosophy. Especially if you have former quarterbacks who have been pocket passers running the show, being sports commentators or influencing recruiting and hiring. Their motivation is governed by their view to reproduce themselves. This is true of retirees in any profession. The standards by which they lived are the ones they expect from the next hire, the successor to their position. Pocket passing is the legalism of thought that breeds a mindset of subservience, the star and his entourage. As Peggy Lee used to ask in her song, ”Is that all there is?”

So what has all this to do with the Bible? Three things. First of all if we look at the biblical worldview it draws a clear distinction between a people governed by a religious caste system and the emergence of a leader in whom people can trust to find their unique creative place in the world. Second, the Bible challenges a legalism people in power use to maintain power and control. Third, the Bible lifts up an individual whose love of His Father directs His mind, heart and spirit on a personal, interpersonal and social level, a Messiah who delivers a legally oppressed people from institutional bondage and its injustices. OK, so you ask what that has to do with football.

It’s not only football. It’s every structure that becomes more important than the people who make it up, who serve its goals and whose dignity is more valuable than the structure. It can be a corporation, a school, a team, a fraternity, a religious denomination, a condo board, a political party and system or any social grouping. The dynamics are the same. The individuals within them are gifted and talented. A mindset that searches out, lifts up and encourages those gifts and talents is the one that excites and achieves. If the authorities in each of these entities can envision developing individual potential and determining how each can best work together then you have every one lifted up, their dignity and creativity realized.

In the Body of Christ, Jesus is the Messiah of deliverance who restores the Spirit that gifts disciples and employs their talents to build the Kingdom of God. So in any field of human endeavor a messianic figure, a leader who determines the giftedness of those around him, encourages them and acts for their best interest will be the heart behind the purpose of the endeavor.

So Tim Tebow is a non-‘orthodox’ player who is probably more orthodox than 90% of those in the football world. The biblical parallels abound. He is unique. He loves ‘father football.’ He has a spirit that cares about the players around him. He knows the rules and lives by them. He works hard at what he believes is the best way to play the game. Already his coaches are working around his talents and rallying the other players to fit into being more creative in their positions. Obviously they are responding. So what if he only passes twice, there is more activity for the others around him. He is returning football to be more than a star and his lackeys. Everyone is getting the credit, recognition and desire to see it as an adventure. And the power structure doesn’t like it. He is a threat. In that sense Tim Tebow is a kind of messianic figure but isn’t that what we are all called to be right where we are? Aren’t we being called to be prophetic in the day-to-day routines and among people who live under the quiet desperation of impersonal legalism? After all Jesus did say, “As the Father sent me, that’s the way I am sending you.”