Tim Tebow…A Humble Hero
“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Jesus in Mark 10:43-45
They built a statue of Tim Tebow outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. The University of Florida likes to celebrate the greatness of their Heisman Trophy winning football players and National Championship winning coaches. It should be noted that two of the school’s three Heisman winners are known for being genuinely kind Christian men. The third? No comment.
Danny Wuerffel has been in Christian ministry since his retirement from the NFL and was an outspoken Christian while a student-athlete at UF. Obviously, Tim Tebow was renown not simply for his football prowess, but as the bronzed “John 3:16 eye patches” on his statue would indicate, he was known for his love for proclaiming the gospel.
We all love a superstar. I’ve spent time around sports ministries (I’m on the Board of the San Gabriel Valley chapter of FCA – Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and know how effective genuine Christian athletes can be in sharing what Christ means to them. Inevitably, the athletes that people want to hear give testimonies are successful: superstar recruits in high school; starters at a D-1 NCAA program; professional league players.
However, the most powerful testimony of a Christian athlete isn’t their accomplishments but their sense of contentment amidst even the most humbling of circumstances. Christian athletes who proclaim that Jesus helped them get to the pinnacle of their success appear disingenuous to many in our culture. By contrast, a humble athlete is a rarity. They stand out amidst a culture full of pride and arrogance. An athlete that does the unthinkably selfless act truly glorifies God. Why? Because this is exactly what Jesus did by laying aside his status at the Father’s side in heaven to humble himself and give His life in exchange for ours.
The great ones are always the humble ones. Humility is what would make Tim Tebow great, not his many accomplishments on the field. He knows this, too, and his humility has been on full display already this fall in the NFL.
Drafted by Denver in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft, Bronco fans were getting restless to see their charismatic quarterback take the field. However, the coaches were adamant about the superiority of Kyle Orton, the current starting quarterback. As fans are want to do when dissatisfied with the quality of their team’s play, they get restless. In the case of Denver’s fans, they began to chant, “TEBOW! TEBOW! TEBOW!” in the hopes of pressuring the coaches to put him in. The coaches didn’t budge.
By nature this type of adulation would stroke any man’s ego. We’ve seen professional athletes in similar circumstances seize the limelight and stoke the fires of fan discontent for their own professional benefit. It would be common that most in this situation would begin to develop a negative attitude about their coaches and think to themselves, “They clearly can’t see what the crowd can see.” It would be very easy for a proud, hard-working, professional athlete to begin to surmise that they were being denied an opportunity that they deserved.
Not Tebow.
The week following the Broncos fans’ expression of discontent (which included a threat to buy billboard space in Denver demanding that the coaches put in Tebow), the back-up quarterback took to the microphone to say, “Well, I guess I appreciate the support, you know, but we’ve got people in charge here that we trust and trust they’re going to do the right thing.”
Controversy over! He supports his coach. He supports his teammate who earned the starting job. He hasn’t deluded himself into thinking that he’s better than he really is. Instead, Tebow does the Christ-like, counterintuitive thing and puts the needs of his team and coaches ahead of his own.
By publicly submitting to those in authority and humbly recognizing his inexperience and his own need to get better, Tim Tebow showed humility. He showed what true greatness is all about: serving others, even at your own expense. This attitude is more rare than winning a Heisman Trophy and more valuable than an high quarterback rating.
Too bad we don’t build statues for athletes on this basis.
