Tebowing (noun)

“I don’t want to get married… because I see how my parents are. And they’ve been together, like, years… I want first kisses. I want passion… the whole way through.”

This obscure quote is from the movie “Reality Bites.” The title of this movie – and this quote – is very appropriate to our culture. We love the honeymoon stage, where everything is a dreamlike and perfect, where every high builds on the last one, and we ride the wave of bliss that can seemingly carry us to anywhere imaginable.

We are all wise enough to recognize the immaturity of this thinking. It isn’t realistic to stay permanently in the honeymoon period of anything. Despite this, this type of thinking is found in our culture in places beyond marriage.

Tebowing
1. Verb - The act of emulating Tim Tebow by getting on one knee with fist on forehead as if in prayer. (example)
2. Noun - The state of human infatuation, otherwise known as the honeymoon period.

I, like many football fans around the country, am on my honeymoon with Tim Tebow. He is a fantastic human being who always takes time to talk with fans. He treats every person he meets like they are important. And, in the egotistical world of professional sports while playing arguably the most ego-centric position, he is humble beyond comprehension. Amplifying the intrigue is Tebow’s unwavering profession of faith which causes people to either be drawn in closer to him, or be repelled by him.

It’s easy to get caught up in Tebowing when his exploits take a team from a 1-4 start to 8-5 and the brink of a playoff spot. It’s easy for our hearts to be warmed by a person who says all the right things, does all the right things, and – despite constant talk about how he doesn’t have the requisite skills to be an NFL quarterback – doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder and takes his criticism in stride with humility. It is easy to love when all is going well.

Sadly, we are nearing the end of the honeymoon stage with Tim Tebow. The past two weeks (losses to the Patriots and the Bills) have brought us past the first kisses and passion of initial love. The luster of our torrid affair gives way to the realization that reality does indeed bite – Tim Tebow is not without his warts. Off the field, it’s almost a guarantee that he will in some way disappoint his legions of fans as well – after all, he’s only human. It’s safe to say that his millions of fans will dwindle down, and we will recognize that our ‘love’ of Tebow was actually infatuation, something that does not hold up to the trials that were bound to happen. Tim Tebow won’t be a different person because of his eventual failures. The only thing different will be our inability to look past his flaws. This means the WE are the problem; or, more succinctly, the problem is our inability to cope when things don’t go how we want them to.

Today, Tim Tebow needs to lead his team to victory in order to ensure a spot in the playoffs. Will he succeed? The better question is,

“Will he still be the same man regardless of the outcome of the game?”

Many people unfairly compare Tim Tebow to Christ. Unfortunately, Tebow is destined to fail, whereas Christ is not. There is, however, one area where there is an accurate comparison: we, the followers.

In our lives, there are many variations of Tebowing. It might be a relationship, a hobby, or a job. It might even be our view of God. Will we choose to move past the honeymoon stage?