So over the course of 366 days, I’m bound to run into some topics that may be controversial (I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t). Today is probably one of those items, so I’ll start with some ground rules: <\/p>\n
1) You may have a different opinion than me. If you do, I accept that, and it doesn’t offend me.
\n2) You are free to express any differently held opinions (or if you have the same opinion, you can express that too). If you do, however, do so respectfully.
\n3) Don’t expect me to change my opinion easily.<\/p>\n
Yes, the headline says “God and Football,” but you can really extrapolate this topic into any sport. And yes, this has been triggered by the recent activities of a certain Timothy Richard Tebow, but keep in mind that I’ve held this belief since before I’d even heard of the man (and that was back at Florida). So what is this controversial belief with which you may or may not agree? Are you prepared?<\/p>\n
God does not care who wins sporting events. Period.<\/b><\/p>\n
I don’t care if it’s your local church softball league or the Super Bowl, God has nothing invested in the outcome. Jess brought it to my attention that people are saying since Tim Tebow passed for 316 yards in his playoff victory over Pittsburgh, that was a symbol of God wanting him to win the game. Because John 3:16 is a thing, you know, the verse that always shows up at sporting events? What then is the significance of 10\/21 (completions\/attempts) or 15.0 (passing average) or the fact that when we add in his rushing yardage we get 366 yards of total offense, a far more significant number to the overall game as it includes all of his contributions?<\/p>\n
Keep in mind that I am not a Tebow basher. I’m not one of those people who has spent the last three months criticizing his play, ability, or religion. In fact, I have quite enjoyed the consternation he has evoked in the football establishment, the never ending stream of articles decrying his poor mechanics and unsustainable lack of turnovers (the second part of which I agreed with and played a factor in the three losses to end the regular season). On the flip side, however, was my mounting frustration with the attribution of Tebow’s football success to Divine Providence.<\/p>\n
And here’s where I have to explain myself; why doesn’t God care about sporting events. In the moment, some of these events can seem like world shaking activities with eternal significance, but really they are footnotes in history. Unless you have a connection to the winning team or individual, no one but the history books will remember the victors in certain events. Who won the various events in the first Olympiads in the Greece of antiquity? Most of those answers have been lost to time. A story line could have been proposed in the Denver – Pittsburgh game that compared the openly religious Tebow to the quarterback of the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger, who has been accused of rape a couple of times. Yet the Broncos were one or two bad bounces of the ball away from losing that game. If Pittsburgh had won, would that have meant that God favored an accused rapist more than a devout follower? <\/p>\n
If God is favoring Tebow, why didn’t the Broncos go undefeated with him at the helm? Were Matthew Stafford, Tom Brady, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Kyle Orton (the man Tebow replaced) more deserving?<\/p>\n
Taking this example down to a more personal level, I have played in our Church’s softball league for over a decade, coaching a team for the last four or five seasons. I have won one championship and had the best record in the league (but did not win the championship, in a different year) over the time that I have coached. Was there someone closer to God than me in those seasons on a different team? I can guarantee it. Then why was I rewarded with victory? Is it some sort of aggregate scale, where the person with the Holiest team wins? Then what determines who wins city league teams? I’m certain that at some point in the past, some team of Atheists has beaten a team that included at least one Christian. How is that fair? It makes far more sense to extricate religion from sports altogether, to understand that there can be areas of life the God may not have a strong preference in (take breakfast for instance, I’m not sure God is wholly invested in your decision between toast and yogurt, and will not brand you a sinner should you choose both).<\/p>\n
Let me set one thing straight, I am not saying that God does not have control over everything, that He could not change the course of activities if He wanted to. I am saying that God has placed the laws of physics in the universe and can allow sporting events to play out according to them because they do not have an effect on His eternal plan for mankind, regardless of what any athlete may say or do during or after any loss or win.<\/p>\n
Just a warning, future controversial topics include my view on politics and my beliefs on Heaven. . . \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Weight: 240 Max: 240 Min: 240
\nYearly Mileage: 4 miles
\nCurrent Belt: Purple \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Next Belt: Orange \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Next Test Date: 3\/12
\nFitocracy Level: 6 (2972 points, 372\/1250 to next level) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c ID: disciplev1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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