Tebow Time

Comes now the new football player, Tim Tebow; and a splendid warrior is he. Much has been said about his physical attributes, and about whether he is suited to play his current position, quarterback, or would he be a better fit somewhere else on the team (tight end has been mentioned)? However, regardless of where he plays, he is a fierce presence in the game he has chosen. Or, perhaps Mr. Tebow would say the game was chosen for him…

Whatever.

Lately, much more has been made about his sideline attitude, in which he kneels and places himself in a position of supplication to the Lord. Many have made this a focal point of discussions about him, and it has become a national fad, primarily among young people, to imitate him through a phenomenon now known as “Tebowing”, wherein one kneels and presumable prays wherever they might be at the time; public or private.

This phenomenon leads one, myself included, to have several thoughts about the matter. In the Bible, in Matthew 6.6; it says that you should pray “in private”, or “in secret”, depending on which version of the Bible you are reading. Bear in mind, of course, that biblical verses are subject to many translations; verses written in one place are often contradicted in another place. Suffice to say, you can use the Bible to back up most any assertations you might make; in the same way that statistics are used. I prefer a literal translation; but hey, that’s just me, you do what you want.

That Mr. Tebow uses the sidelines of a playing field in a very public setting doesn’t bother me so much anyway. What does bother me is wondering about the context of his prayers. Is he praying for peace, or for help for the needy, or for an end to the jealousies of mankind? Or, is he praying for excellence on the football field, or for victory, or for the admiration of his peers? If, in fact, he is praying for the latter three, my friends, then he is a hypocrite and not worthy of emulation.

Football, after all, is just a game; a carry-over from our childhood days; we just wear bigger pants now. Not only is it just a game, it is a game based on the precepts of war, if you will. In short, it is hardly a reflection of true Christian values. If you are looking to find God on the football field, you are looking in the wrong place.

It would be wrong of me to assume what his prayers are about; however, given the setting of his poses and prayers, I have to wonder. But, that is a question only Mr. Tebow can answer, and we can only hope for the best. Ultimately, he alone will have to pay the price for the content of his heart…

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT August 4, 2010...For the sake of argument, let’s talk, or argue, about it if you wish. First, let me begin by saying that I am not against arguing; nope, no way, not me Jose. In my opinion, arguing is a good thing, not a bad one. Arguing is one of the ways we settle our differences of opinion about things big and small; without argument, matters would be left to resolve themselves without any input from us, and we wouldn’t want that, would we? Heck no, we’ve got to get our two cents said, be it right or wrong. There are some who say that instead of arguing, we should converse; but I say that having a good argument or a good conversation is the same thing. Alternatively, at least, it should be. Nowadays, people have added some ugly heads to the argument monster, and in doing so, have actually demeaned the purpose of arguing in the first place; that purpose being to make your points known on a given subject. However, many people now have adopted a “my way or the highway” attitude that have rendered the reasons for argument impossible to achieve. With that in mind, I would like to argue for the sake of argument that some things need to be observed by the participants of an argument in order for any argument to have any meaning at all. Here are some things that I believe good arguments either have or don’t have.

Shouting: Shouting at one another is absolute poison to any argument; effective problem solving can never be attained by shouting. Heart attacks, strokes, increased sales of blood pressure medicines, yes; resolution of problems, NO!

Hogging the floor: There must be two sides to every argument, or else it is not an argument at all. To continue to speak when clearly others have input they wish to contribute is patently unfair. If you don’t want to hear the other side, go rent yourself a podium and a megaphone; and put up several signs that say “no questions taken.” Even better, go talk to your mirror, that person is a very good listener. Well, at least he/she can’t walk out on you…

Making it a contest: Really, there are no “winners” or “losers” in a good argument. The object of arguing should be to understand what the interested parties have to say before reaching any conclusions. Often, both sides of an argument will reach some middle point of agreement and often they will not. Whether or not the sides reach a mutual area of agreement, both sides will still have benefited from at least listening to each other.

No bashing, please: Nothing belittles an argument so much as using someone’s ethnicity, religion, lifestyle, etc. as support for it. Not only does it demean the argument, it demeans the arguer as well; if your argument is so shallow as to have to resort to personal attacks in order to make it, perhaps you really don’t have an argument at all. People just cannot be categorized; the best and the worst of us come from everywhere.

Listen: Ah, that’s a magic word…listen! The person(s) with whom you are arguing have something to say, else they wouldn’t be arguing with you at all. Listen to what they have share with you. Ideally, both sides of an argument would spend equal time speaking and listening, or writing and reading, if you prefer. Frequently, there is a delightful prize for conversing in this manner; you both may find that you are more in agreement than you thought you were.

Don’t argue forever: There will be instances when neither side will give even a inch, both sides remaining unconvinced of the other’s, regardless of the effort. My best advice in those situations is to shake hands and say, “Let’s talk about it again on another day.” While it’s true that unresolved problems leave holes in our lives, it is also true that hastening to solutions that are unsatisfactory to all serves no purpose. Better to save the argument for another day than to live with a “solution” that makes no one happy.

These are just some things to consider the next time you find yourself in an argument. I, for one, could write at great lengths about this, but for now, let’s just leave it as it is. For the sake of argument, let’s agree to argue about it another time. That is my argument, and, by golly, I’m sticking to it!