We can’t help ourselves. If Tim Tebow speaks, we listen. Not just Christians, but everyone.
Christians love his testimony, and non-Christians hate it. But no one ignores it. And almost no one ignores him. Why? Well, because sometimes—ok, nearly all the time—he says things that make even the most cynical unbeliever perk up, be encouraged, and go out the door for another day.
In mid-February he was, once again, defending himself against naysayers who sniff at his baseball career, or lack of it, depending on which side of the arrogance isle they sit. He was reminded that some people think he is overrated, don’t like him, evaluate his skill and find it lacking.
Before I continue, think of the way most athletes today respond to criticism, especially at a press conference. Huff, puff, cuss. Arrogance, pride, diminish the other side.
And then there’s Tebow. His response went viral and was heralded on Yahoo Sports. Read it for yourself:
“It’s really about keeping perspective and not letting other people define you because they sure want to. Shoot, I try to encourage young people all the time to not let the world or outside sources define you because you are always going to have critics and naysayers and people that are going to tell you that you won’t, that you can’t, that you shouldn’t. Most of those people are the people that didn’t, that wouldn’t, that couldn’t. . . . I think the reason people don’t go after things is because how much you will be criticized. What if I fall flat on my face? Fear and doubt and all these things creep in. I just don’t believe that is the healthiest way to live. I don’t want to have to live with fear or doubt every day, regardless of what everybody here says about me. It doesn’t define me.”
And here it is. Here’s what you need to take home, to remember, to post on your mirror:
“There is one thing that defines me and that’s what God says about me. Besides that, I get to go live out my dreams and help as many people along the way as possible.”
I’m not one to rely on positive thinking to live, but I firmly believe that it is far better to think positively than negatively to have a good life. That’s how God wired us. So we gravitate toward someone who not only says it, but lives it.
In our time people are critical, cynical, and callous. Every day on social media it’s another diatribe or argument to see who can yell the loudest, be the crudest, and criticize the quickest. We yearn for affirmation from people we barely know in a place we’ve never been for reasons we cannot explain. We are driven to be accepted and have no idea any longer what is acceptable and what’s not.
But one thing hasn’t changed. Deep inside, where our heart beats and our dreams thrive, we need to be encouraged, affirmed, inspired. We need someone to say, yeah, you can do this. Who cares what other people think? God made you, He knows you, and He loves you.
So why all that negativity? Why listen to the naysayers and the social media trolls? Blame Adam. Yeah, really. When he nibbled on the wrong fruit and suffered the consequences, he and Eve were the first people in history to lose a dream and to fail, instilling doubt and the fear of failure in all of us.
And that’s why people lean in when Tebow speaks. He’s real. He inspires us. And in one sentence he says what we all need to hear again. “There’s one thing that defines me and that’s what God says about me.”
People don’t define people. Christians don’t define Christians. Churches don’t define other churches. God does.
Other people don’t define your value, your future, or your standing in the universe. God does. His Word, His will, and His love for you.
So get up again. Dust yourself off again. Go out the door again. And do what God made you to do. Let God define you. Let God lead you. Let God love you.
Love your kids. Do your job. Lead your family. Serve your community. Serve through your church. And dream bigger things. It’s not over yet.
“For this is what love for God is: to keep his commands. And his commands are not a burden, because everyone who has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. Who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:3-5).
That’s how God defines you. A believer. A follower of Christ. A child of God.
And the one who conquers the world.