Thou shall be free to not pray, but not free to prevent prayer..

“Religion is like a pair of shoes.....Find one that fits for you, but don't make me wear your shoes.” 

By now, you have likely heard that Peyton Manning has signed a deal to become a Denver Bronco. For the Mile-High sum of 96 million dollars, Peyton has left behind Indy and is moving west. Not surprisingly, this move has a lot of people talking. Given his neck injuries, will he really be able to play? Does Denver have an offensive line capable of protecting Manning as he needs? What part of his deal is guaranteed (in the event of another injury)? Lots of questions...the other question of course, and the one that has been on my mind since I first heard about the deal, is what now becomes of Tim Tebow?

I have never been a huge fan of people who you hear thanking God for their victories. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that they are thanking God. I happen to thank God for all the great things in my life. Actually, I thank Him for the good and the bad (because I think He always has a plan) but I don’t feel a need to tell EVERYONE ELSE that I’m thanking God. I consider my relationship with God somewhat personal. It’s just how I am.

I know my role as a good Christian though is not to judge others. I like to think I try to be tolerant as much as humanly possible, so I guess it surprises even me that I have this pet peeve of hearing someone take to the microphone and starting their victory speech with “I want to thank God...” As soon as I started following Tebow’s career at the University of Florida, it all started to make sense though...

By following Tebow, it suddenly dawned on me that my problem is not with people publicly thanking God, it’s the sincerity of the gratefulness (or more specifically the lack thereof) that irritated me. I have never been irritated to hear someone get on stage at the Oscar’s for example and genuinely give thanks to God for a win as long as I felt that the statement was sincere. What irritated me was hearing actor after actor or athlete after athlete thank God because they thought it was expected of them to do so. 

Maybe it’s even in the way the words are spoken that also grates on my nerves...often kind of a rushed, slurred or dismissive statement, said in a way that means “I’m supposed to say this so let me get it over with before I tell you about how good it felt to break free in the backfield and score that winning touchdown.”  That just irritates me. I’m sorry. Maybe it’s better that the words are said than not said, but for whatever reason, it still causes me to roll my eyes when I hear it.

Given this pet peeve, it has surprised even me that I somehow have turned into a Tebow supporter. Yes, Tebow, the absolute poster child of public thanks-giving to God, doesn’t irritate me at all. Calm down...I’m not about to do the Tebow when I cross the finish line of my mini-marathon in May. But watching him take a knee for a few seconds before celebrating with his team just seems sincere to me. Because of that, it doesn’t bother me at all.

So can it really just be Tebow’s apparent sincere gratuity that has my mind changing on this topic? To be fair, I think it goes a bit deeper than that. 

I also think I have started supporting Tebow and others who are infusing God more and more into their public lives because it seems we (those of us who believe in God) seem to be asked more and more not to do so. 

Case in point...a friend of mine told me that her daughter’s soccer team used to do a small prayer at the start of every game. Just a simple “Lord, keep our girls safe and may they treat each other with respect...etc.” There were some parents that had a problem with that. Actually just one parent (as opposed to eleven who had no problem with the prayer), but on topics such as this, one is often enough, and the coach was forced to forego the “prayer.” In exchange, the coach instituted a “moment of silence.” A mere thirty seconds with which the kids (and parents) could choose to do with whatever they wished. You could think about the troops in Iraq...you could make a mental note to call the air conditioning repair man...you could fill out your grocery list...and oh, yeah... you could pray. Seems fair, right?  

Nope. Not to that one parent who still felt that the moment of silence “implied” prayer. Amazingly enough, there was a sufficient fuss made with the administrators of the league that now even the moment of silence is “out of bounds” (pardon the pun).

Are you kidding me with this? Really?? Is this what we have become??? 

What’s so wrong with a moment of silence? Heck, for that matter, what’s so wrong with a prayer?  

Again, I promise I understand that you may not want to pray. You will never see me handcuff you and drag you to church. If you don’t believe in God and don’t want your children to hear a prayer at a soccer game, I have no problem with you deciding not to pray or removing them from that environment. Fine by me. That is between you and God (or as you may believe..just you). But I want to pray. I want my kids to pray. And to be totally honest, I’m fairly sick and tired that just because you may not want to pray, I am forbidden from doing so. 

Why after all, does it appear that it is always the minority’s opinion on these matters that is stronger than mine? Because their position is deemed “politically correct”..that’s why. We decide that we don’t want anyone to feel “uncomfortable” and so we ignore the vast majority’s opinions and cater to the minority. Well, what if I’m uncomfortable that I don’t get to pray??? What if those of us who do want to pray, simply said, “I’m sorry if I make you uncomfortable, but I’m going to take a second and sincerely acknowledge God in my life?” And that, my friends, brings me right back to Tim Tebow...because that’s exactly what he’s doing. 

And that’s exactly what I love about him. 

-Claudia