So, if you know me you know I’m an avid follower of all things Tim Tebow. My family are die-hard Gator fans and I’m always interested in keeping tabs on who both the self-proclaimed and unintentional “faces” of the Western church are from year to year. I think Tebow falls under the latter moniker of accidental spokesman, but I certainly think he’s a better media focal point for Christendom then, say, Pat Robertson or Westboro Baptist. However, the meat of his attention isn’t his alleged virginity or his family’s mission work. For better or worse, Tebow would still be anonymous if he wasn’t a damn good football player with a style all his own.

So, with all his talent and the public nature of his faith, we’ve seen a perfect storm of praises and jabs aimed not at his skill but at the idea of his Christianity. When he does well, evangelicals praise G-d and atheists commend his athleticism. When he does poorly, evangelicals remain silent and atheists tease about how Jesus must have let him down.

I guess the reason I’m bringing it up at all is that I feel SO sorry for the dude. I think it sucks that people on both sides of the theological table have projected the belief that “G-d wins football games” onto him. As if the kid sits in his room at night and prays for a “W” until he sweats blood.

I’ve got news for you all and I bet Tebow would agree:
JESUS DOESN’T WIN GAMES FOR PEOPLE

If you believe (or if you believe that I believe) that G-d mystically and miraculously orchestrates the outcome of some fucking game, you must be out of your right mind! If the LORD G-D was in the habit of usurping human decision and error by miraculously determining the outcome of things, I think the situation in Uganda would be a little less bleak, don’t you? Do people really think that G-d grants them a win on game day or pulls that SUV up to their drive way?

Successful athletes draw from a well of confidence and courage to get themselves up off the couch everyday and go after what they want in life. Some players draw on their belief in Allah, some draw on their belief in themselves, and Tebow draws on his belief in Jesus. It doesn’t mean that Jesus has anything to do with the outcome of the game or that the validity of the Hebrew G-D is determined by the success of those who pray to Him. It just means that when Tim Tebow feels like he can’t go out on that field, he prays for strength to do the thing that he’s suited to do. I don’t sit around and pray that Jesus will make me a successful comic book writer, I pray that I can have the strength and confidence to start putting words on the page because I feel like it’s what I’m meant to do. I may fail, but that has no reflection on the fact that my faith gave me the strength to try.

Just like it’s barbaric to think “Oh, Brady, you lost that game so you’re not a man” or “Matt, you’re sales are down, you’re not a person” it’s also ridiculous to assume that just because the Broncos lose and their QB draws from his faith that “oh, Broncos lose, Jesus sucks”.