by It wasn’t his desire, and it wasn’t his doing. And yet, it happened all the same.
Tim Tebow, the outspoken Christian quarterback who was drafted in the first round and many believe should be a tight end, fullback or safety, is causing a stir with his faith. It seems that a handful of Denver fans have decided that they would make a jersey with Tebow’s number and the name Jesus instead of Tebow.
What would God think about this and why would anyone think that this would be acceptable?
Christian Culture
When is the last time that you walked through your local Christian bookstore? In there, amongst the Bible themed postcards, Bibles, VeggieTales, and bulletins you’ll find a whole set of material that tries to merge Christianity with pop culture.
A few of examples:
- Shirts emblazoned with “Lord’s Gym” with Jesus doing pushups with the cross on His back.
- Facebook and Twitter accounts that bear the names of God the Father and the Son and their dialog with other saints using today’s vernacular.
- WWJD on just about anything and everything.
- Mints with Scripture on them.
To some people, Christ has become a product—He is someone that can sell merchandise. Slap His name or a quote from Him and you’ll sell it. And that’s what they see, in part, for this jersey. Finally, they can link someone to Christ via a jersey, and they can make sales.
I’m not saying that anyone who buys this jersey or sells this jersey only has a profit motive in mind, but what I am suggesting is that we’ve cheapened our Lord and Savior by taking the holy and making it common.
Is This Acceptable?
I will not wear a Tim Tebow jersey that has “Jesus” as the name instead. I mean, I don’t even watch football, and though I know the basic rules, the game doesn’t interest me.
That being said, even if I were into football, I would not buy this jersey or recommend it to Tebow fans. I believe this would also be where Tebow would stand. Jesus is perfect, He is holy and just. Tim Tebow is a flawed human being, saved by grace through faith by the work of the Savior. Jesus does not need Tim Tebow, and Jesus was not a professional football player.
We need to get out of the gimmicks and the trappings and start getting to know the real Lord and Savior and worshiping Him alone.
Exactly! Well said. I’m reminded of John 13:35 – ‘By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you wear Christianized T-Shirts.*’ or something like that.
* some words were changed intentionally to emphasize a point, not because the writer believes them.