Much of Tebowmania represents the worst of American Christianity

American Christians love a winner. We love big numbers and big personalities. And when Tim Tebow is winning, we love him. There is a big difference in Tim Tebow and Tebowmania. Tim seems a genuine guy, and I’ve written about him before. Tebow’s up front faith isn’t why people dislike him. Most everyone who has rubbed shoulders with him for any length of time (coaches, teammates, and reporters) has been warmed by his humility and care for the suffering. Tebow’s fans, well we’re a different story. I just saw this in a secular article in the Chicago Sun-Times on the aftermath of Tebowmania.

“… People have constructed a world for him in which there is no room for mistakes, only perfection. And if he should stumble? What then?

It’s frightening how much belief followers have put in a 24-year-old. I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry for the woman who marries him. I can’t imagine the glare of the spotlight and the pressure to be sinless.

Tebow seems like a very nice guy with a very big heart. It’s the people who worship him, rather than just admire him, who make my skin crawl.”

We have done this to ourselves, fellow believers. It’s not persecution that causes this reaction — it’s bad theology. I don’t want to write about Tim Tebow. Whether or not he makes it long term in the NFL, he seems to have perspective. He’ll be fine. Tebowmania–that’s a different story, and that’s the point of this post. It represents to me the worst of the prosperity gospel of conservative evangelicals (which is different than Joel Osteen’s version, yet equally destructive).

Michelle Bachman’s presidential campaign is an example. During Tebow’s 6 game winning streak, she authorized a campaign ad likening herself to him — under appreciated, maligned for his faith, yet able to get it done. The problem was that by the time the ad hit the airwaves, Tebow had hit his dismal 3 game slide at the end of the season. A losing Tebow was of no use to her campaign. Losing Tebow wouldn’t resonate or inspire the voters she was trying to court. Coupled with her losses in early primaries, the ad was the death knell of her campaign. If only she had held on a week, she could have milked it for all it was worth after his improbable win over Pittsburgh. But it would be useless again now after the loss to the Patriots.

Tim, I know you’re not reading this but if you were (after asking you if you could get me a size large women’s NFL Tebow jersey because they are sold out online), I’d want to tell you how very sorry I am to see you exploited so by conservative evangelicals. Exploitation by unbelievers is one thing, but when it is so called brothers and sisters in Christ, it’s so much worse. They’ll mostly leave you alone if you lose consistently next season. You’ll be of no more use then to prop up their distorted prosperity gospel. Life makes better sense for Christians when Marian Barber’s fumble and Prater’s miraculous field goals are God’s affirmation of you for your up front faith. But if you continue in that faith and lose miserably for any length of time, they won’t know what to do with it. They don’t know what to do with THAT God.

In reality, sometimes the greatest gifts God gives faithful Christians come in the form of losses. They that lose their life will find it, Jesus says. Losses often pave the way for His better gifts — not gifts of things, but gifts of Himself.

Conservative evangelicals may not uniformly want that God, but, nevertheless, He’s the One we’ve got. And there’s something about Him that is infinitely better long term than the one who makes bad teams fumble and good teams win.