…put on the new self, created after the likeness of God… Eph 4:24

Since I don’t care much for football (much less understand it), it’s hard for me to imagine that God might care about the sport either. It’s not like there is any eternal value (or dis-value) for a team wining or losing a game.  And what exactly does God benefit from players who make public expressions of faith and results in the mocking of Christianity more broadly? God could care less about football…right? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, most are aware of the current fascination with Bronco football player Tim Tebow. His famous pose that shows him giving thanks to God, now known as “the Tebow,” is stirring some curious conversation about God’s interest in things earthly. So, does God care about football? If not, what does he care about and where is the line?

Similar to Jesus’ statement that we will always have the poor among us, I tend to believe the same is true for the complainers who can’t handle public expressions of faith—and we’re seeing it intensify with the Tebow story. Tebow has found himself the target of crass reactions from talk shows to Twitter, from those whose mission in life is to ensure a separation of church and everything else. “Comedian” Bill Maher’s infamous Christmas Eve tweet ended with (I’ll spare you the expletive portion) “Somewhere in hell Satan is tebowing, saying to Hitler “Hey, Buffalo’s killing them.” Christians can’t cower to the complainers or Christianity will be silenced entirely.

So back to the main question, does God care about football? Liberal political analyst Bob Beckel from Fox’s “The Five” has been quite helpful in considering this question, especially since he’s the one who raised it. As a commentator, Beckel often comes across as a mean-spirited ideologue, but his new stint on “The Five” has revealed a man with serious Christian convictions and a perspective on “the Tebow” that I can appreciate. This now endearing Beckel holds, and I am paraphrasing, that “the Tebow,” the Jesus-Tebow (fan-created) shirts, and similar expressions of faith related to this new movement are irreverent and perhaps complicit in cheapening the message of Christ through mass media. Beckel has been open about his Christianity on “The Five,” and though I don’t know anything about his doctrinal views, his concern about reducing our relationship with the Redeemer to a seasonal football fad is a point well taken. But their conversation on the topic persists and he continues to pose this question—does God care about football? Because Beckel seems to want to protect a view of God that separates his holiness from our sinfulness, his assumption is no—God could care less about a football game. But is he correct?

While God may or may not care about who wins a football game, one thing is true—everyone is talking about the God. When Tebow is involved in a miraculous play and he gives glory to God, God is acknowledged. When the Bronco’s lose, mocking commences and some suggest that God has withdrawn his hand of blessing over “his man” Tebow. But did you notice that no matter how the game ends, we’re still talking about God?

The sovereign God of the universe cares about all of his creation. We can count on him as all powerful, all knowing, and all loving. And God is not only aware of our personal circumstances, but our circumstances are entirely within his sovereign control. There are no limits to what God will use to draw man unto himself, including football. That Tebow bows in humility to his Lord after a great play in a game doesn’t necessitate that he believes God is rooting for the Broncos. And I don’t believe God is rooting for the Broncos. What I do believe is that God wants to draw attention—worship—to himself and to his mission. Tebow is a man with a mission off the field that many might not know about were it not for his on-the-field displays of love for God.

So does God care about football? To answer Mr. Beckel, I believe he does…and I believe we can make this affirmation without risk to the reverence for God required by the Christian narrative. But I also think this is a helpful discussion for the Church to be having because this isn’t the first time in recent history there have been questions about Christian fads that might be undermining the message. But no matter what Tebow accomplishes on the field, at this point, we’re all talking about God. That’s amazing! Tell me what you think.

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