Tim Tebow and The Effective Tax Rate, Pt. 1
Soul |
Money
It’s a crime
Share it fairly
But don’t take a slice of my pie
“Money” ~Pink Floyd
Now don’t get me wrong, I was tempted to enter the fray amidst the excitement of Tebow throwing for 316 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn’t just throw for 316 yards in that miraculous OT victory, he averaged 31.6 yards per pass, and the Bronco’s time of possession for the game was 31 Minutes 6 seconds. Clearly, God chose sides, and God is a Broncos fan. That’s something to talk about.
In case you’re wondering why all the fuss over the number 316, it has been cited as proof by many of God’s favor on Tebow. It refers to the foundational scripture from John 3:16… “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
Just, though, as I was about to put fingers to keyboard and weigh in, it was all over in an evil instant. In the vein of how does God let bad things happen to good people, Tom Brady and the vile New England Patriots bested Tim Tebow and the Broncos. How could this happen?
This surly turn of events in the now divinely guided world of the National Football League leaves us searching more for answers in, perhaps, Job than Matthew. I mean, clearly things worked for good the week before when Tebow bested that sloth Ben Roethlisberger evidencing God’s willful intervention for good in our humdrum worldly affairs. What, however, had Tebow done in the following week to warrant this reversal of favor?
If ever the forces of good and evil were clearly drawn and defined, this was it… 333 (Tebow) vs. 666 (Brady). AND, evil won! I thought to myself, I really should write something about this because people of faith everywhere are probably feeling a little unsettled. I did do some checking worried that Brady might have thrown for 666 yards… thankfully not, only 363. And, there were no clever scripture references to the game’s score 10:45, or 45:10 (there was one about circumcision, but it didn’t fit so well).
There actually has been some thoughtful conversation from both sides of the Tebowing frenzy. The question at the center of the conversation seems to be should Tim Tebow pray so publicly and intentionally after he scores? You can just imagine the clear battle lines on this one. Some Christians say “of course.” Other Christians and non-Christians have a range of uneasiness with his celebratory practice.
Somewhere in the midst of the blogosphere and shouting back and forth about to Tebow, or not to Tebow, a Bible passage from Matthew crept out of the woodwork:
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:5-6 (NRSV)
This mostly got the “Other” Christians and non-Christians whipped up into a proof-texting frenzy usually reserved by “Some” Christians for things like condemning gay people. I thought to myself, “My, my, a little literalism goes a long way, doesn’t it?” I thought, “How about a little historical context?” Just like the word homosexual (or gay) didn’t exist in the context of Jesus’ time, neither did American gladiator football.
So, no, Jesus wasn’t talking about football players praying after touchdowns. He was specifically talking to his fellow Jews about prayers that attempt to flatter God and themselves—Jesus used the anecdote of praying behind closed doors as a figure of speech. Hey look, I’m not particularly keen on Tebowing, but then again, I wasn’t particularly keen on the Icky Shuffle either. How about just handing the ball to the guy with the black and white striped shirt.
Anyway, like I said, it’s too late to get in on this conversation about Tim Tebow, and thank goodness, because whether NFL players should pray in public or not isn’t even the most interesting thing Jesus talks about in Matthew 6. The most interesting thing is where he talks about the effective tax rates of presidential candidates!
Aha! Finally, the tax rate connection! Seriously though, check this out:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” Matthew 6:19a (NRSV) Now, how on earth did Jesus know about effective tax rates and Swiss bank accounts? That’s really what I want to talk about, and the related topic… when is enough enough? I’m afraid though, this might need to wait for Tim Tebow and The Effective Tax Rate, Pt. 2.
Stan, I think the suggestion, if I read you correctly, is that the government should set a maximum when “enough is enough.” What I think makes sense, in contrast, is that people who have that much money tend to put it somewhere, including investments. No matter how much money Obama is able to take from the American people, it will not be “enough,” which, for me, is the better question. Studies show that when government spending is over 20% of GDP, it puts a lid on economic growth. When you throw in over regulation and class war fare, you are begging for slow growth.
As for Tebow, one thing that impressed me was that he still thanked “my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” after the defeat. I am not convinced that he has any misguided notion that God wanted him to win.
George,
Thanks for your comments. When posing the topic “When is enough is enough,” I had not actually thought about the government’s possible role in this sort of limitation. I was thinking more so about individual responsibility and self-governance. Though, individuals and corporations have historically proven individual responsibility and self-governance not to be strong suits.
When you throw in under-regulation and throw out a whole class of people, that is also a recipe for slow growth of the majority of the economy. Research also shows that recent downturn in the economy has had little effect on those who can finagle the system to hide their money. They are still buying yachts, expensive vacation homes, have extensive credit lines at fine jewelry stores, and are patiently waiting for the economy to get better before releasing a little of that cash into the system to start businesses and create all those jobs for which we keep hoping.
As for Tim Tebow, besides the fact that he played for the University of Florida, what a great guy… great role model. Like I said, how he celebrates isn’t exactly my thing, but that’s just me. If it works for him, so be it. My commentary was on those who saw his success as proof positive of God’s favor on a particular person or team.
And like Tebow, I thank Jesus, every day, that we live in a country where we can disagree in a civil manner about things which we are passionate.
I think too much is being made of Tim Tebow. I am glad he is a Christian, but come on, the world acts like he is the only christian in the NFL. You say boo to the evil patriots, but what about all the Christian athletes on that team – were they not divinely guided to their victory and if not then are you saying they were allowed to win only because evil reigned that day? Is Tebow the only athlete granted God’s love and support? As for the famous “Tebowing” gesture – - I think there is another Bible verse about prideful praying……
Let’s get real here. Too much has been made by everyone about Tim Tebow – and I’m sure he would be among those who think so. Tim Tebow is a football player – a gifted athlete and a man of faith – as are numerous athletes in the NFL, NHL, MLB, etc. Lifting him above all those others simply because he makes a gesture on the field is to say that only those who make great public gestures of their faith are deserving of attention and rewards from God. That those gestures alone brought the Broncos to the play offs – not the terrific athletism and faith of the entire team.
For the record, I don’t really believe Tom Brady and the Patriots are evil. However, as a Colts fan, I just don’t like them very well. More importantly though, I don’t think God is a fan of any particular sports team or individual participant.
Too much has been made of Tim Tebow’s prayer ritual. Every player that scores has a ritual, his though, is provocative in our current milieu of politics where the separation of church and state seem to blurred. Why is no one bent out of shape about Packers players jumping in the crowd? That’s more excessive, and drawing attention to the player.
Again though, that wasn’t my point. A flood a people have used Tim Tebow as a gambit to prove God’s favor on Tebow and the Broncos. In my view this not only diminishes God, but diminishes the faith of scores of other athletes on other teams who are devout, and lose.
Somehow the thought that God is preoccupied with wins and losses in the NFL while girls around the world are victims of sex trafficking, war ravages countries and people in our own city and around the world starve because they don’t have enough to eat… doesn’t compute with me.