Tebow: Praying Like Tebow



Posted: Thursday, February 09, 2012

by John Waddey
firstcenturychristian

Tim Tebow has gotten much attention for his prayers on the football field. Some conclude he is doing this to be seen of men? Of course Christ forbids such posturing. I see Tebow’s actions differently.

In Matthew 6:1 and following Jesus was warning against the hypocritical posturing of the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the Jewish people. All that they did religiously seems to have been a pretense. Later in Matthew 23 the Lord pointed out numerous cases of their hypocrisy...noting that "they say and do not" (Matt 23:3).

Although Tebow is not a member of my church, he definitely is a believer and a lover of Christ. From all we know of him, he is sincere in his profession. He lives his faith both on and off the football field.

Playing professional football he competes within a circle of men, many of whom are more pagan than Christian. The sports news is regularly filled with stories of their irresponsible and even barbaric behavior. Many of them are on record as despising Tebow because he dares to openly display his faith. He graciously bears their insults and disdain without striking back (Matt. 5:39).

For his honorable conduct in that sordid environment and for his bold courage in openly confessing and displaying his faith, I find myself admiring the young man.

While we are taught not to make a public display of our religion as a cover for our hypocrisy, we are also taught to let our light shine that men may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). I fear that most of us who have a better knowledge of Christ’s will are more likely to fall into the category of putting our lamp under a bushel basket (Matt. 5:15). Our generation of disciples have been described as the "invisible Christians." We are so private in our faith that folks around us could never guess that we are followers of Christ.

To condemn Tim Tebow I would have to know his heart; know that he is actually playing the hypocrite like those old Pharisees. Since it is impossible for me to know that he is saying his public prayers to cover a wicked life, I cannot assume that he is. Since Christ teaches us to judge, not according to appearance, but to judge righteously (John 7:24), I must give him the benefit of the doubt. Otherwise, I myself would be judged by the Lord (Matt. 7:1-2). Ask yourself if our society would be better or worse if we had more Tebows or more of the barbarians?
John Waddey is a native of Nashville, TN. He is in his 54th year as a minister of the Church of Christ. Presently he serves the West Bell Church of Christ in Sun City West, AZ. His ministerial work has taken him to 22 foreign nations. Writing has always been an important part of his work. He is the author of 54 volumes. He has served as the editor of the Star Bible magazine and the Christian Bible Teacher magazine. Currently, he writes a weekly newspaper column and edits a monthly journal called Christianity: Then & Now. He also maintains Bible teaching websites at www.firstcenturychristian.com. His latest book, "Testimony of the Twelve Minor Prophets" is now at the printers.

This Article has been viewed 176 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Christofer French
 91 days 6 hours ago.
74 fans.
I am with you and concur. I would like to add that Jesus' comments were about the ostentatious religiosity of the perfumed Pharisees. Then, people make a doctrine out of it. Tebow is David. Not the King, the teenager who ran around not being able to understand why this @#$@#&*ant Giant is ridiculing his family, his tribe, his God and his people. Tim Tebow is David.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.