My dear Nevadan, I suspect that your note doesn't quite put Tim Tebow's posture or Bodleian_Girl's objection in the center of your cross-hairs. Let me suggest that if there is hypocrisy involved, it is not the (hopefully sincere) bowing pose after a little moment of personal success in a game. The hypocrisy would be in serving the appetites of worldlings on the day reserved by Christians for rest and worshipping the Lord.
The evidence of spiritual maturity is the denial of self, denial of sin as a master, and denial of dedication to worldly temporal pursuits at the wrong time. Whatever you think of the evangelist Billy Sunday, he abandoned a successful National League baseball career because of its worldly associations and scheduling of games on The Lord's Day. This was a clear (and costly) example of obedience to the Holy Spirit.
In comparison, Tim Tebow obviously can not yet be attributed with the quality of placing the Lord over his own wealth and the world's infatuation. It calls into question his regard of the Lord by dishonoring the Day of rest, worship, study, and true prayer. In an occupation that is not one that demands employment activity in service to The God and man on the Lord's Day, one may well ask as to whether The God hears such a "prayer" in activities that oppose His determined Will.
Tim has yet to shed his profane pursuits to quietly exhibit a mature attitude, and it seems that your (mis)application of the Holy Scripture likewise misses the mark.
Still, with sincere respect for your last point --
If we pray for Tebow, it should be that he keep close to God publicly and privately because the world is after him to slip up - they would love to tear him down for some moral failure.
The worldlings do, and are, showing that they correctly perceive a spiritual (not a moral) poor example by showing in his disobedience to The God's set of values and behavior. It sets a poor example to both (1) older "Christians" who will abandon the Lord's Day assembly in order to watch the Sunday game, and (2) the younger set who take their cue from their seniors. If Tim wants to play ball in opposition to the designated purpose for the first day of the week, at least let him do it without ostentation.
re: “Tim has yet to shed his profane pursuits to quietly exhibit a mature attitude, and it seems that your (mis)application of the Holy Scripture likewise misses the mark.”
The post I responded to condemned Tebow as a hypocrite for praying publicly. She used a passage taken out of context to do so from Matthew 6.
Now, as to Tebow’s playing football on a Sunday being a profaning of Sunday, I think you are being a bit premature in your condemnation of him. After all, is not the Sabbath Day really Saturday? Where in the New Testament does it say we are not to work or play on a Sunday? Where does the New Testament say that Sunday is the new Sabbath Day?
And, haven’t you read where Paul says in Romans 14:
“1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.”
In other words, imardmdl, Tebow is not doing anything wrong in playing football on a Sunday. The only thing he’s violating is your cultural view about what we should or shouldn’t do on a Sunday - it’s not taught anywhere in the New Testament that we are to transfer the Sabbath Law restrictions (which was a Saturday) to a Sunday.
Have you ever mowed your lawn on a Saturday? If so, you violated the Sabbath law of not working on a Sabbath. Did you take out the garbage, paint a room, play a game on a Saturday?? The point is, Paul declares that these things are to be decided between you and God. If you want to honor God on a Sunday by not working or watching a football game, then do what you think is right. But, that’s between you and God.
As to me “misapplying” Matthew 6 and 10, please show me how I misapplied these scriptures to the issue at hand - which was, is Tebow a hypocrite for praying in public. My response was to show from Scripture that it was one’s motive that mattered to God. And, since we can’t see into Tebow’s heart, then we cannot judge him.
“In an occupation that is not one that demands employment activity in service to The God and man on the Lord’s Day, one may well ask as to whether The God hears such a “prayer” in activities that oppose His determined Will.”
Tebow’s employment contract stipulates that he has to work a lot of Sundays in the fall....we don’t know that he doesn’t often go to church before he has to show up for work. I’m sure he goes to church the other seasons of the year.
I have to work a lot of Sundays taking care of patients as an RN. Don’t forget what our Lord says “The sabbath was made for man not man for the sabbath!”