God doesn't care who wins football games.

So, that dastardly Tim Tebow struck again last week and bounced my beloved Steelers from the NFL playoffs.  Well, dastardly is certainly the nicest thing he's been called in this house since then.

Anyways, with the thrilling overtime win, the internet was literally ablaze with Tebow-mania.  Tim Tebow set some kind of Twitter Tweet record that I never thought anybody would ever keep track of in the first place.  By far, the most interesting discussion around Tebow this year is not the fact he throws like a girl heaving a toaster, or the fact that the Option Offense is supposedly not a pro offense, or even the ridiculous ways he wins football games. Nope, the most discussed topic surrounding Tim Tebow is his faith.  Or rather, his public display of faith.


This seems to bother some people, and they take the opportunity to ridicule this man for his Christianity.  I've seen this before.  Kurt Warner is one of my favourite NFL players of all time, and one of my favourite people that I've never met as well.  When Kurt was suddenly thrust into the limelight in 1999, his faith was front and centre for all to see.  It still is.  He was ridiculed for his belief in God quite mercilessly by many basement dwelling internet NFL fans.  Well, those same folks are back, to take a bite out of young Mr. Tebow.  Kurt Warner has even offered advice to Tebow to tone it down just a little.

Here's my point.  God does not care who wins football games. Really he doesn't.  And there isn't a single Christian NFL player who believes He does care who wins football games.  Or Hockey games.  Or business deals.  Or elections.  And if there are Christians who do believe God has his hand in the results of such inane things, they are misguided.

I had to change the name of this post because it was already taken by a fantastic article at Bleacher Report.  But that article is a little negative and vague for my tastes.  It tries to get to the same point I have, maybe, but misses the mark a little.

Why do so many football players, basketball players, long jumpers, tiddlywinks players, etc... pray to God for their success?  Understand this; it has nothing to do with the result on the playing field.  Elite athletes in any sport have an amazing sense of self.  A confidence that stems from preparation.  These folks may been blessed with God given talent, but it's up to them to use it properly.  What a deep seeded belief in God allows elite people in any field to do is ignore the doubts.  When the pressure is on, and when things are getting nervous, these cool, calm and collected individuals don't panic.  The result on the field is almost secondary to doing your absolute best.  That is what a belief in God gives them.  It allows them to perform to their potential without a fear of failure.  This is the important part, so I'm going to say it again just a little louder; Their belief in God allows them to perform to their potential without a fear of failure.

Prayer is a way of communicating those fears and doubts and even hopes and dreams.  Prayer allows believers to be crystal clear in their minds on what is important to do at that very minute.

Do you need God in order to have that kind of blind confidence in your abilities?  No. Of course not.  That self belief is in all of us somewhere.  However, anybody, in any field, who has felt success and failure, knows that it takes a certain level of focus and confidence and, dare I say it, faith, in order to be the best at whatever you choose to do.  You have to focus on the desired result and ignore all the distractions.  You have to have confidence in yourself and others in order to achieve great results.  You have to have faith in knowing what the end result will look like even though there is no immediate tangible proof that you're right.

But, what about those believers who fail?  Surely there are Christians on the losing team.  I'm sure  the Pittsburgh Steelers have their own fair share of Christians who also pray to God.  Guess what?  They're still thanking God for the ability to perform up to their potential.  God didn't cost the Steelers the football game.  Ike Taylor did, but I digress.  How do you return from a crushing defeat and still perform up to your potential?  God gives you the confidence to do it.  God exalts people in victory and defeat.  It's just we hear from the victors more often than not.  The losers are not any less of a person or athlete because they lost.  As long as they played like nothing else mattered, then they were winners.

I say it to my kids all the time.  I do not care how you do, as long as you do your best.  Guess what?  We celebrate victories in this house too.  We nurse wounded egos when there's a defeat as well.  My kids aren't any less of a person or any greater of a person when they win or lose.  It's how they do both that counts.  And my kids thank me for believing in them.  I'm not God.  Not even in the same universe.  But, I know what my kids are capable of.  And they look to me for guidance.  That need for guidance does not disappear with age.  It's a need for our entire lives.  God fills that need for a large percentage of people.

God wants the same thing for all of us, his children.

So, you've got it all wrong.  Whether you think Tim Tebow is ridiculous for praying in the open, or think he's pushing some sort of religious agenda down your throat, you've got it wrong.  Well, you've got the wrong ideas about why he does what he does.  He does it because that is his source of inner strength and guidance.  Just like Aaron Rodgers.  Or Kurt Warner.  Or Ray Rice.  Or any other list of high performing athletes in the NFL.  Or high performing people in any field who also happen to be Christian.  They pray because they are humble for the gifts they have been given.  And they pray to thank God for the opportunity to be their best.

God doesn't care who wins football games.