Tim Tebow Proudly Lives His Faith

Thursday I asked Tim Tebow whether he's saving himself for marriage. The question itself led to more than a bit of conversation, but to me, the answer, not the question is the story. Tebow demonstrated that he lives his life according to his own religious principles. Completely. Even, perhaps, bravely in an era where it's easy to conform and make the popular choice.

I asked because I believe it's newsworthy and because, believe it or not, I thought Tim Tebow would answer the question by saying: "Yes, I am." Which is exactly what he did.

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Why did I believe this? Because Tebow lives his faith. And I believe that living his faith is not artificial, he's not pretending to be something he's not. Further, I don't believe that saving yourself for marriage is something to hide from. Not in the evangelical Christian faith that Tim Tebow practices in a Southern church and not in the evangelistic Southern church where I was raised.

At my Southern Baptist church, proclaiming that you were saving yourself for marriage was considered an asset, something to be proud of. Mothers bragged about their daughters or their sons public proclamation of chastity until marriage. Saving yourself for marriage wasn't something that people hid. They talked about it openly. In fact, people even wore tangible objects to reflect their purity, bracelets or rings that served as vivid evidence of their chastity pledges.

Tebow himself said that he wasn't surprised by the question. It's a question that I think many fans share. Earlier this week I wrote that it was the most interesting question that could be asked at media days. I was fascinated by the religious implications then, "I think everyone is afraid to ask, but wouldn't this be the ultimate testament to his religious faith?" And then I further wrote, "And if he wasn't a virgin wouldn't this at least prove that Tim Tebow has violated a Bible verse? Something that, to be honest, there is no evidence of thus far. Put it this way, if Tebow got shot and we all thought he was dead, and then he came back to life, wouldn't you be convinced that Revelations was unspooling before your eyes?"



Listen to his reaction, Tebow wasn't surprised by the question at all. Tebow's religion is inextricable from his personality, as good Christians are always taught their religion should be in the evangelical faith. It's how we all know about the mission trips to the Philippines where he circumcised children, why there's a Tim Tebow Bill to allow children who are home-schooled to play for local high school sports teams. Tebow himself chooses a Bible verse to wear in his eye black every time he strides onto the football field, all to spread his personal beliefs.

Put simply, Tim Tebow marches to his own beat, it's what has made him a rock star.

I guarantee you come Sunday across the South ministers will approach their pulpits and use Tebow's virginity as an example to the flock. After all, if Tebow can resist countless girls throwing themselves at him on a regular basis, is it really valid for you or I or countless others to argue that preserving our virginity was just too difficult? Maybe. But I think it's much tougher. Like many things in life, it all comes down to a choice. And Tebow controls his own choices better than most.

That's the real story here: Tebow's willingness to be an individual in a time when it's easy to get lost in the crowd by making the popular decision. Good for him for standing up for his faith publicly, as he's done countless times before.

I've always been troubled by my own inability to root against Tebow on the field, after today, I have yet another reason that I can't. If you're a college football fan, you can't not be a Tim Tebow fan either. Even if, in the end, you know he's going to beat your team by 50.