As a writer and avid social networker, I track trending topics to get ideas on editorials and articles. Recently, the trending topic has been Tim Tebow. There are supporters, trend-jumpers, naysayers and skeptics. Many say that it is silly that christians are so excited about his faith being in the spotlight. They say, “It’s just football!” and go on rants about “those” christians who make everything about Jesus. But isn’t that the point in advancing the gospel?
When you first understand idolatry, then you can begin to understand exactly why God is intruding football.
Idolatry – “The universal human tendency to value something or someone in a way that hinders the love and trust we owe to God.”
For millions, football is more than a past time, it’s a way of life. There are football fanatics that paint their faces and stomachs, screaming in the stands with their crazy wigs covered head to toe in the colors of their favorite team. Many men eat, sleep, live and breathe football during the football season. Many will let their wives and children go to church while they catch the game or they are sitting impatiently in the pews because the kickoff is at one o’clock and the pastor is longwinded. Football often becomes an obsession. Some men refuse to even attend to go to church because it interrupts their football schedule. Football becomes idolatry when it hinders or distracts our relationship with God.
Statistics show a disturbing trend of men fading and falling away from the church. The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories. On any given Sunday there are 13 million more adult women than men in America’s churches. Over 70 percent of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it during their teens and twenties. This trend also comes at a time where absentee fathers are on the rise and single parent households are emerging as the new family structure. Without the prescence of a foundation it makes it hard to lead. As a result, the family unit is crumbling. The christian faith teaches men how to take the lead in their marriages, families, homes and communities. When they are absent or distracted, it comes at the cost of stability and security.
So why does God intrude in football through someone who is a proud christian? Jesus sheds light on this throughout the gospels. When He spoke to fishermen, He often spoke of fish. When He spoke to farmers, He often spoke of crop. When He spoke to Tax Collectors, He spoke of currency. He knew that we all need a teacher that speaks our language. What better way to speak to football fanatics than through their favorite quarterback?
You see, God will use whatever has our attention to get our attention. He meets us where we are at. When we are so focused on something that turns us away from Him, He will use the testimony and success of someone that we admire and can relate with to catch and/or redirect our attention. God does not mind sharing nor does He prohibit football and other activities. He just desires to be the center of our lives for own good. A solid relationship with our creator is to embrace a solid identity with ourselves. When our identity is wrapped up in ideology or popular trends, as trends change as they always do, so does our identity. So if your favorite team has a losing streak one season, you may become disappointed and jump ship. Your loyalty is then transferred to another team that was once considered a rival. For women, it could be fashion trends. Maybe you finally worked enough overtime to buy that new designer handbag and matching shoes but when your co-worker sees you sporting them with pride, she says, “That was last season’s trend.” How exhausting is that? With God, our identity is grounded in truth. It never changes, no matter the circumstance, situation or past, present or future trends.
When Tebow passed for 316 yards, it became a trending topic comparing it to his signature scripture of John 3:16. I am certain there were a multitude of curious football fans cracking open the bible in the bottom of their grandmother’s chest or doing a Google search to correlate the significance. Maybe they even read on. Maybe they prayed that night.
Is Tim Tebow another trending topic that will fade away when Halle Berry remarries, Beyonce has another baby or Brad and Angelina adopt another child? Maybe. But no single seed planted with the Word of God goes without sprouting. Like the parable of the seed sower, the outcome of the harvest, depends on the reciever of the seed. Jesus also explains the magnitude of a single soul saved in Luke 15:7, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.“
God has a way redirecting our worship and idolatry to where it should belong. Tim Tebow is like many other notable people throughout the bible. He is a living testimony and instrument in converting #FootballFreaks into #JesusFreaks. How’s that for a trending topic?
“Quick facts.” Church for Men | calling the church back to men. N.p., 22 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. .