Does God Care About the Super Bowl?
Quarterback Tim Tebow’s public display of faith has ignited a debate over the role that religion plays in sports. Does God care about who wins or loses? Can prayer alter the results of a sporting event? Will the most spiritually minded team win Super Bowl XLVI?
In all fairness to Mr. Tebow, he has said that he prays not for victory but for direction in life and the ability to make good choices. I’m not sure if those choices include “pass” or “run” plays but consulting God about everything including your field of endeavor is not only wise but very Biblical (“Pray without ceasing” I Thess. 5:17). But does God really care about such things? Does it really matter to Him who wins or loses in any sport? I would suggest that these things matter to Him only in the context of how
He uses all things (including sports) to further His overall will concerning mankind.
A better question would be, “what does God really care about?”. The answer to this question is stated quite clearly by the Apostle Paul in I Timothy 2:4 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Enlightenment, salvation, and reconciliation with Himself—this is God’s “end-game” and all things that happen in this world serve this purpose.
Who knows? Maybe Tebow’s prayers are more about saving souls than scoring touchdowns.