It finally happened today. An active professional athlete in
one of America’s identified himself publicly as a homosexual.
In a matter of hours, representatives from all across the
sporting spectrum had anted up to express their unqualified support for Jason
Collins, who as a less-than-even-casual basketball fan, I had never heard of before
this afternoon.
One basketball player I had heard of, Kobe Bryant, summed up the seemingly mandatory reaction that everybody—player or not—is required to have within the space of 140 characters. He tweeted:
"Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU"
Did you catch that last hashtag? BYOU, as in, “Be you.” Alright, Kobe, I will be me. Thanks for your permission.
I—me, that is—am told, in no uncertain terms, in passages like 1 Timothy 1:8-10 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 that the God of Heaven condemns the sin of homosexuality in the same category as slave-trading and mom-slapping.
Just being me, I’ve got to say that homosexuality is held out as a paradigm for sin in Romans 1. Not as the worst of all sins, nor as an unforgivable sin, but as a paradigm of the intrinsic backward-ness of all sin, mine included.
I also look with my eyes and see friends who self-identify as homosexuals, “receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error,” as Romans 1:27 states. I see this and I weep for them. Homosexuality, like all sin—yet uniquely—is a self-destructive lifestyle, and I hate to see my fellow image-bearers of God destroyed.
These are my friends, and they are miserable because of their sin, which cuts them off from God himself. I know that misery because I belong in those lists in 1 Timothy and 1 Corinthians. I speak not as a condemner, but as one once condemned and bound by sin, but now set free and re-made by the atoning death and resurrection of my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
Room to #BYOU?
What’s going to happen to the first professional athlete to say what I’ve said—in any format? Will a Christian athlete—or columnist—who is asked his take on Jason Collins be given the same status as all the others if he dares speak the truth of God as it has been given him in Scripture?
Will anyone applaud Joe Christian, pitcher for the Houston Astros, when he says the following?
"I love my teammates and will go to war with a guy who does his job any day of the week. If you want to know my take on who I will play on the same team with—and be proud to do so—then that’s it.
But, if you want to know where I stand on homosexuality, then I’ve got to say that my God has spoken clearly on this topic. He has called it sin, which results in death. He does not desire that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance and come to a knowledge of the truth.
I myself am a sinner. I don’t happen to struggle with the sin of homosexuality, but I struggle with lust, greed, pride, worry, and 10,000 other forms of idolatry. These things would keep me enslaved to the power of sin if not for the death of Christ in my place."
Will such a statement be applauded or denounced? Clearly, this would be denounced as the words of an “ignorant”, to-be-pitied, backward religious fanatic.
One basketball player I had heard of, Kobe Bryant, summed up the seemingly mandatory reaction that everybody—player or not—is required to have within the space of 140 characters. He tweeted:
"Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU"
Did you catch that last hashtag? BYOU, as in, “Be you.” Alright, Kobe, I will be me. Thanks for your permission.
I—me, that is—am told, in no uncertain terms, in passages like 1 Timothy 1:8-10 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 that the God of Heaven condemns the sin of homosexuality in the same category as slave-trading and mom-slapping.
Just being me, I’ve got to say that homosexuality is held out as a paradigm for sin in Romans 1. Not as the worst of all sins, nor as an unforgivable sin, but as a paradigm of the intrinsic backward-ness of all sin, mine included.
I also look with my eyes and see friends who self-identify as homosexuals, “receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error,” as Romans 1:27 states. I see this and I weep for them. Homosexuality, like all sin—yet uniquely—is a self-destructive lifestyle, and I hate to see my fellow image-bearers of God destroyed.
These are my friends, and they are miserable because of their sin, which cuts them off from God himself. I know that misery because I belong in those lists in 1 Timothy and 1 Corinthians. I speak not as a condemner, but as one once condemned and bound by sin, but now set free and re-made by the atoning death and resurrection of my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
Room to #BYOU?
What’s going to happen to the first professional athlete to say what I’ve said—in any format? Will a Christian athlete—or columnist—who is asked his take on Jason Collins be given the same status as all the others if he dares speak the truth of God as it has been given him in Scripture?
Will anyone applaud Joe Christian, pitcher for the Houston Astros, when he says the following?
"I love my teammates and will go to war with a guy who does his job any day of the week. If you want to know my take on who I will play on the same team with—and be proud to do so—then that’s it.
But, if you want to know where I stand on homosexuality, then I’ve got to say that my God has spoken clearly on this topic. He has called it sin, which results in death. He does not desire that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance and come to a knowledge of the truth.
I myself am a sinner. I don’t happen to struggle with the sin of homosexuality, but I struggle with lust, greed, pride, worry, and 10,000 other forms of idolatry. These things would keep me enslaved to the power of sin if not for the death of Christ in my place."
Will such a statement be applauded or denounced? Clearly, this would be denounced as the words of an “ignorant”, to-be-pitied, backward religious fanatic.
How do I know that? Because of Tim Tebow.
The
curious case of Tim Tebow
Today also happened to be a turning point of
sorts in the professional football career of Tim Tebow, who was released first
thing this morning by the New York Jets.
Why did he get released? Because they didn’t
think he could play quarterback at the NFL level, period. That’s perfectly
fine, I saw a few of those Denver Broncos games in late 2011, and I tend to
agree. It seems like there are plenty of other quarterbacks better than him.
So why do I bring him up? Well, in the same
20-minute drive that I heard the monochromatic reaction of one pro athlete
after another to today’s “groundbreaking” announcement by Collins, the radio
show hosts let loose with fury on Tim Tebow, the person—not the football
player.
Fact is, nobody’s really arguing whether or
not Tebow’s a good football player. That’s yesterday’s news and there’ve been
two drafts since he played a significant role on the gridiron.
What my esteemed radio hosts were bantering
about, however, was what a “phony” Tim Tebow is—which they made no attempt to
qualify with evidence of any kind. As the segment wore on, these radio
broadcasters let loose the vitriol, leaving no doubt as to how much hatred and
animosity they have against the guy.
And why? Because they prefer pocket passers to
read-option QB’s? Not likely, is it? No, the hatred is simply owing to the fact
that Tim Tebow stands for something. Tebow is a guy who, for all indications,
loves his Savior and is governed by God’s truth.
The world sees that, and recoils against it.
“The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…”
It’s like that moment on a dark morning when
my alarm goes off, but I stay under the covers. Before long, my wife turns on
the light and pulls off the covers. I’m offended. I shrink back. I want to curse
her for turning on the light.
That’s the difference between today’s two
reactions—one to Tebow and one to Collins. One quietly, unassumingly exposes
sin in each of our hearts while the other gives hearty approval to autonomous,
God-neglecting hearts.
One leaves us cozy in bed while the other
pulls off the covers and turns on the lights.
Wrapping
it up
I knew this day was coming. Ever since I was
12-years-old and a sportswriter named Marcos Breton wrote a piece about how it
was just a matter of time before a pro sports athlete came “out of the closet,”
I’ve known this day was coming.
I’ve also known it was coming because our
concept of “tolerance” has been shifting for some time. “Tolerance,” which
should mean that I love and respect my neighbor even while disagreeing with him
and seeking to persuade him to my position, has now come to be synonymous with “approval.”
Tolerance and approval are not the same thing,
however. Kobe’s tweet says as much. It sends the message loud and clear—approve
of homosexuality or be called an ignorant suffocator. Accept homosexuality or
become unacceptable yourself.
BYOU, as long as “you” happen to sign onto the
mandate of the day.
My apologies to the Black Mamba, I can’t get
behind that. I love my neighbor too much to pretend he’s living when I know he’s
truly dying.
And I must, as the early apostles said, “Obey
God rather than men.”
