Two Jerseys and a Sweater Vest

By: American Decency Staff

By:  Chris Johnson I don't watch sports. At all. I'll go to the occasional Tigers game or maybe watch a game if a Michigan team is slated to take home a trophy, but I pretty much could care less. But even I have heard of Tim Tebow, the Broncos' quarterback whose popularity spiked due to his thanking God for giving him the strength to score touchdowns – after every single touchdown. He is also the igniter of the cultural phenomenon of "Tebowing " – taking a knee for prayer in what would be normally be considered an odd context to do so. Not a bad cultural phenomenon as far as cultural phenomenon go. In the last few weeks, a new sports hero has surfaced – Jeremy Lin who, while he definitely knows what he's doing on the court (from what I hear), is popular more because of his story and his unapologetic confession of faith than just his skill. As the Washington Post describes it, "He’s quickly become a rallying point, dribbling a ball at a unique intersection where culture, religion and sport meet." Not to be out done by Tebow in the creation of bad puns, the excitement surrounding Lin has been dubbed "Linsanity." Let's move from acceptable topics to discuss with family to the one we are all taught to avoid: politics! While there are some who have their issues with Senator Rick Santorum, few attempt to  attack the sincerity of his faith. Santorum, of course, is responsible for the explosion of popularity of sweater vests… Ok, maybe not, but he has won over a lot of voters. He is less loved by the media for his beliefs, but he has experienced a huge boost in the polls over the last few weeks. It is open for debate on whether that is because of or in spite of his open discussion of his religious beliefs, but, as far as I can see, his social stands have been the most discussed positions of his candidacy. Even as he made his positions clear he rose to be the most popular GOP candidate for the nomination nationwide. It seems to me that America is aching to have a hero without a but. We have all sorts of celebrities and politicians who we admire, but there is always that moral quirk. There was Tiger Woods: great golfer and thought to be a pretty moral guy,  but then he cheated on his wife with a dozen or so women. Then there's Justin Bieber. He's pro-life and says he's a Christian, oh, but he wouldn't stand up for abstinence and he hangs out with the guy who sings "Let's Make Love in This Club" (Usher). How about Whitney Houston? Viewed by some as one of the greatest voices of all time, but she had a drug problem. There was some hope for Miley Cyrus, but then she posed in nothing but a sheet for a magazine, smoked a bong, and from there she just kept climbing out of the pool to go back and jump off the deep end. Look at Anthony Wiener. I'm not sure he was ever looked at as a standup guy, but his moral gap sunk his political ship. You get the point. There are a lot people in popular culture/ sports/ politics that you may really want to like but there's always that one (at least) character flaw that just sticks in your throat. I think that's why the rare people like Tebow and Lin and Santorum who say, "look, I believe in Jesus Christ and I'm not going to dive under a nearby bushel just so society will accept me," are enjoying their current popularity. Like I said, I don't follow sports, so I'm not going to say Tebow and Lin are the best athletes out there and I can't say whether Santorum would be the best candidate for President, but I will say America needs those examples. We've almost run out of public figures to look up to and it's just refreshing when we stumble upon one. At the same time, these public figures who dare to stand up unashamed for their faith are under incredible pressure to fail. Tebow and Santorum have experienced their share of verbal persecution, and I'm sure Lin will after he's been around a little longer. They need the prayers of Christian brothers and sisters that they would continue to shine bright, and, while we may not have the audience these guys do, we have to shine as bright as we can too. Can you imagine what the Church could do if all her members had the courage to live out their faith? ========================================================== To support our efforts please click here or mail your gift to American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412. American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

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