Hello World!!!
Guess what I spent most of yesterday doing? …Although I rarely sit down to watch a football game, I watched pretty much the entire SEC Championship game between the Florida Gators and the Crimson Tide — of course the wings, the libations and the raucous Roll, Tide, Roll fans helped…Yes, I was at a game party…
As I watched the game, those around me graciously told me about some of the players and explained some of the history between the two teams as I confessed my ignorance. One player caught my attention, Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the Florida Gators….As he was running up and down the field in the Georgia Dome, I finally figured out that he had a scriptural reference painted on the eye black on his face….John 16:33 actually…and since I am fascinated by religion and such…I kept wondering about the content of the verse…
And I wasn’t the only one. As the game unfolded and it was clear the Tide was going to wash over the Gators, people around me started saying variations of, “What’s up with that Bible verse on Tebow’s face?” So someone finally looked up the scripture on a Blackberry or some other smartphone…
John 16:33 (New International Version)
33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Of course, once someone read the verse, we tried to figure out what the verse meant as Tebow was beginning to tear up, anticipating his team’s loss…Some said it obviously meant that Tebow was going to be “aight” though his team lost…That could be true…After a quick Google search, I have discovered that Tebow frequently has scriptural references painted on his eye black and is a unabashed Christian…..so why did God allow his team to lose then? And when a sports reporter interviewed Mark Ingram from Alabama, he said the first thing he wanted to do was thank God for Alabama’s victory…One Alabama fan in the room gleefully noted that Tebow “doesn’t have the monopoly on God.”
So what’s up with all that? Most games, football or otherwise, can be compared to life…and with that metaphor in
Mark Ingram
mind, ponder these questions…
Why does God allow us to lose big sometimes when we are obviously believers in Him and His word? If two Christians are on opposing sides, how does God decide who will be the victor? Does being a Scripture quoter mean that you know God more?
Still on the same topic – the SEC Championship game …Besides the scripture discussion, folks were also discussing Tebow’s crying after the game. Many of the dudes at the party criticized Tebow for crying and also criticized one of his fellow players who tried to comfort him as he cried. They said Tebow needed to “Man Up!” and hit their chests for emphasis…hilarious…
So here is my second round of questions? Is it ever appropriate for a man to cry in public? If so, why? If not, why?
And here is my final round of questions…of course, we got on the discussion of Tiger Woods…y’all know the story…and if you don’t, a quick Google search will get you up to date. Most men at the party agreed that 90 percent of all men cheat at some point in their lives whether they are in a relationship with a woman as a single man or married…it that true? Why or why not?
Any thoughts?
As for the 1st part, although GOD has something to do with everything, he has nothing to do with somethings. GOD blesses us with talents and sometimes we use those talents to compete with other humans. Hopefully a player is not praying in the endzone or giving thanks for the touchdown or win per se. I would think the thanks is for the ability he/she has been blessed with in order to be in that position. Then again, maybe GOD does favor some teams as GOD is also known to have a sense of humor. Not to mention humiliation. After all, the Gators have now been brought back down to Earth, and the Saints have been uplifted as they still haven’t lost a game.
As for the 2nd part, the guys say 90% huh? What study is this based on? I would agree men cheat slightly more than women because cheating is a human thing, and the male to female ratio is not even close. I know some guys that have cheated, but I seem to know just as many females that do the same thing and sometimes worse. I’m tired of the all men are dogs/all men cheat foolishness. That’s just ignorant. I wonder if that same group of men think 90% of all black people steal too.
Since God is no respector of persons, I believe He doesn’t decide the outcome of sporting events. Frankly I don’t believe God decides the outcome of anything…. WE DO. We decide based on the choices we make which are impacted by the choices other’s make. As far as Tebow needing to man up, the guy who said it obviously never played in a championship game where he laid it all on the line only to fall short of a goal. I joked and said Tebow was a girl for crying only because I was taunting a Gator fan, but I have been there when you fall short of a hard fought game. I don’t have a problem with a man crying in public. I believe there is a way for men to show emotion yet remain strong.
As far as men cheating… we are in a time when everyone cheats. I have witnessed both men and women cheating. We are in a day and time when all people want to do is have sex. Probably why so few people are getting married these days.
Love that Tebow wears Scripture on his face. Could be the only exposure some people get to the Bible!
As for Tiger, the simple answer is that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. Even those who haven’t physically committed adultery have most likely lusted, and Jesus makes no distinction between the two.
Plenty of people are likely to be in trouble around lust then… 🙂
read your blog last week (I think?) about the Alabama—Florida game, and for some reason a thought just struck me.
I was thinking about how you commented on the scripture that the player had under his eye. I remember during the game we were all tripping about how they were words of comfort—almost as if it was already determined that they would lose the game.
For some reason it just occurred to me that his wearing that scripture must have led hundreds of thousands of people to look up and read that scripture as well. With this year being as incredibly difficult as it has been for so many people, just think how many people who may not have known them before now have those words of comfort to reflect on, too.
Just a thought.