Apparently baseball highlights, hockey
playoffs, and various unconfirmed draft rumours are not enough to
fill the airtime and pages of major sports media outlets these days. Recently,
we’ve seen not only sport-related speculation, but social and
religious commentary as well from the talking heads on ESPN.
By now, you’ve heard of the story of the professional athlete who has become a household name for his
lifestyle more than his statistics. His candid discussion of very
personal issues has sparked significant controversy not only in the
world of sports-related news, but in also in the realms of politics
and religion.
Many prominent figures have rushed to
support and congratulate this athlete for his words and actions and
he’s been lauded by many as a brave and courageous hero; an
inspiration to us all.
But it’s time to open our eyes, and
reexamine what the Bible really says. We live in an age where people would rather make exceptions to the teachings of God, than submit to those
teachings they find inconvenient or unlikeable. Nowhere has this been seen more
clearly than in our culture’s response to this athlete. Rather than
lovingly holding him to the standards of Scripture, we have accepted
him and his lifestyle. Those who have spoken the truth on this issue
have been ridiculed, silenced, and ignored.
The Church must be careful not to be
caught up in the sweeping tide of celebrity worship and public
opinion. Though it may make us unpopular, we must not endorse or
congratulate those whose actions are in clear disobedience to the
simple commands of the Bible.
In Matthew 6 we read: “When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites, for they love ... to be seen by others. … But
when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray.”
Sadly, Tim Tebow has been widely celebrated for a lifestyle of public
prayer seen by others, in disobedience to this clear command of
Scripture.
While it's disheartening to see the
clear teachings of Scripture so blatantly ignored, it's even more
disappointing to see many so-called Christian men and women support and celebrate this lifestyle.
It’s time for us to stop celebrating
this athlete, and instead call him to repent and submit
to a traditional, Biblical view of prayer regardless of how
unfashionable or unpopular that message might be.
It’s time for him to stop kneeling in
the end zone, and stand up for Biblical truth instead.
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I see what you did there!
ReplyDelete*slow clap*
ReplyDeleteNo, see....this isn't about posture or placement. This is about the heart.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen Tebow babbling prayer out loud for all to see. He quietly recesses to the "closet" in his heart. Do we even know what he's praying? Did you hear him? Nope.
This scripture passage was twisted by this author to imply that a person should never be seen honoring the Lord. Wrong. This passage (if it hadn't been taken out of context) is about ACTING out in front of others for the mere PERCEPTION of righteousness. It addresses giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, saving, and worry.
Careful what you teach.
Though I appreciate your sincerity, I'm afraid you've entirely missed the point of this article. It's a sarcastic critique on how the masses have been handling the gay athlete who was the first in the sports industry to "come out", and how some churches have criticised the public for accepting the athlete and criticised the athlete for his "lifestyle" as it is "clearly opposed to the clear teachings of Scriptures". I hope this clarifies it somewhat.
Delete