{"id":4360,"date":"2013-03-07T16:24:11","date_gmt":"2013-03-07T21:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/?p=4360"},"modified":"2013-03-07T16:24:11","modified_gmt":"2013-03-07T21:24:11","slug":"tebow-wrestling-with-principalities-and-powers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2013\/03\/tebow-wrestling-with-principalities-and-powers.html","title":{"rendered":"Tebow, Wrestling With Principalities and Powers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year ago, I wrote a blog about why people hate Tim Tebow<\/a>. One reason was because the Gospel offends. So this weekend, when Tebow is once again slated to speak at a private religious institution, am I surprised that he is being attacked ? No, this attack is spiritual and some of you reading this won’t understand.<\/p>\n

But think about it.<\/p>\n

Since when do private Christian universities or churches run their speaker lists by \u00a0gay rights activists for approval? This is ludicrous.<\/p>\n

Since when does the First Amendment not support free speech and the right to have a religious position? A moral position based on your religious beliefs is a constitutional right.<\/p>\n

Since when do we restrict our religious freedom? Even though we live in a country where religious freedom is a right, Christians are the target of intolerance. I know many of you were upset at the Saturday Night Live skit making fun of Jesus, but in America, people can do this sort of thing. It’s bad taste, horrible to mock our Lord, but it is not illegal. Would the producers of SNL do the skit and mock Islam? No, because they would be afraid of the backlash. Making fun of anyone’s religion is inappropriate. These people will answer to God one day, not me or you.<\/p>\n

Since when do we bully people to do what we want just because we don’t like something? We teach kids not to do this, how about if the adults model the behavior?<\/p>\n

Since when do we cry out for tolerance and then became extremely intolerant to the beliefs of people with whom we disagree? That’s called hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

Ephesians 6:12<\/a>\u00a0gives us insight into the Tebow controversy:\u00a0<\/em><\/span>For we\u00a0wrestle\u00a0not against\u00a0flesh\u00a0and\u00a0blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Scripture tells us we are in a battle; we wrestle with powers of darkness trying to extinguish the light of the Gospel. So we shouldn’t be surprised when attacks are aimed at us. Does that mean we like them. Absolutely not. But what is important is how we \u00a0Christians respond to those attacks.<\/p>\n

We look to the life and words of Jesus. When he was persecuted on the cross, He asked His Father to forgive those people because they didn’t really understand what they were doing. Because they refused Him, they were blinded to the spiritual war in which they took part. When Jesus met someone who was in sin, he responded, “Neither do I condemn you, but go and sin no more.” Then, in the most radical of all teachings, Jesus instructs us,\u00a0You have heard that it was said, \u2018Love your neighbor\u00a0and hate your enemy.’\u00a0But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,\u00a0that you may be children\u00a0of your Father in heaven.\u00a0<\/em>Jesus further tells us to bless those who curse us. So for all the horrific comments on blogs I have read towards anyone homosexual, I apologize. Christ wanted us to be known by our love. Calling people names, wishing them ill and so on is not a mark of following Christ. And for that I am deeply sorry. Those people don’t represent!<\/p>\n

Look, Tebow is not out railing against gay rights, he is not anti-gay and he is not a threat to gay people. He simply talks about his life as a follower of Christ. Thus, it makes no rational sense that a good guy is such a target of hate and bullying \u00a0unless you factor in the spiritual dimension.\u00a0So take all this controversy with a grain of salt. The attack against Tim Tebow is a spiritual one. And whatever decision he makes now and in future in terms of appearances, I pray he is led by the Spirit in his decision making. In the meantime, our job is to pray for him. He’s a target just because he is a Christ follower.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A year ago, I wrote a blog about why people hate Tim Tebow. One reason was because the Gospel offends. So this weekend, when Tebow is once again slated to speak at a private religious institution, am I surprised that he is being attacked ? 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