God, apparently, is a Denver Broncos fan.
That’s good news because, since John Elway retired and someone thought Josh McDaniel was a football coach, we’ve needed the help. Of course, I don’t believe much of what I’ve written so far.
Let me be upfront about this: God doesn’t care who wins a football game. If it turns out that he has a favorite team, he’s going to lose a lot of out-of-town Christians — and God is smarter than that.
Faith is the critical element
God also doesn’t care if you get that promotion, if your business succeeds, or if you win the lottery. That’s not to say there is no correlation between Tim Tebow’s faith and the Broncos’ ridiculous wins, though.
In Matthew 17:20 (King James version), Jesus explains to a couple of disciples why they can’t manage to cast out a demon:
Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, remove from here to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
They don’t have faith in themselves. Mustard is the underdog of seeds, but because it believes it can grow, it grows to be the biggest of all the herbs. With that kind of faith, Jesus says, you can move a mountain or beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime in the NFL playoffs.
Tim Tebow prays for victory (or strength, or whatever), and each time the prayer seems answered, it isn’t because God wants Denver to win – it’s answered because Tebow believes it will be answered. He has the faith that Jesus was talking about.
But, don’t confuse faith with hope
Does that sound familiar? It should. You’ve probably heard this quote from Thomas Edison:
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
Thomas Edison and Jesus are saying the same thing, and it applies to everything we do.
If you think you’ve had faith once before and it didn’t work, you may have confused “faith” with “hope.” Faith is hope on steroids. If you’re looking for a promotion, feel free to “hope” you get one and eventually you might.
If you have FAITH you’ll get a promotion though, and BELIEVE enough in the power of whatever you pray to, you’re more likely to get it. Why? Because of the changes you’ve made in your attitude. Believing that you’re promotion ready affects your actions, and it’s those changes that make you promotion ready in reality – not the prayer for a better job, or the belief in a supernatural being.
All things are possible – if you believe they are
Tim Tebow believes so strongly in God that it affects everything and everyone around him. Christians will tell you that it’s the God part that makes the difference, but it isn’t. It’s Tebow’s belief that all things are possible if you believe they are. It’s his mustard seed belief in himself – the same faith that anyone, regardless of religious preference, can use to make themselves more confident and willing to tackle challenges.
Positive thinking doesn’t always work, as we’ll see the next time the Broncos lose and the quarterback is asked “Did you lose because you didn’t pray hard enough?” But it works well enough that you can’t find a quote anywhere that contradicts Thomas Jefferson:
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from reaching his goal; nothing on Earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”