Former NFL star turned movie producer Tim Tebow said success and access sometimes “spoils” our understanding of the Gospel message.
In an interview this week with Faithwire, Tebow said “having things at our fingertips” can actually make it more difficult for us to understand and appreciate our faith and God’s redemptive role in our lives.
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“I think sometimes having things at our fingertips can make us spoiled to things and think that we have everything when all this stuff isn’t that much, actually,” he said. “It’s understanding what really is meaningful.”
Tebow, who served alongside his brother Robby as an executive producer for the forthcoming movie “Run the Race,” explained that life — “the race” — isn’t always about coming in first place. Instead, it’s about how we live our lives, what we’re living for, and who we’re chasing after.
“Run the Race” is a fictional story about two brothers, played by actors Tanner Stine and Evan Hofer, one of whom is dedicated to his faith in Jesus while the other struggles to trust God. As the story unfolds, the teenage brothers learn to lean on one another and seek after God following the death of their mother and the abandonment of their alcoholic father.
“The race isn’t always just about winning — and you’re talking to a very competitive person who likes winning a lot,” Tebow said. “But running the race in life isn’t about just the more we have, the stuff we have, the accomplishments we have. It’s who we are as we’re running and what are we running after.”
Success and the battle to stay grounded in faith are not foreign to Tebow, who not only won a Heisman Trophy during his time in college football and went on to compete in the NFL, but now plays professional baseball and is stepping into the movie business.
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It’s not the path he imagined, but looking back, Tebow explained to Faithwire he can see God’s provision in his evolving career.
“Sometimes God opens a door and he closes other ones and it’s [about] trying to walk by faith in the midst of it when we don’t always know it,” he said. “There were times when I thought, ‘OK, God, this is gonna be cool. Let’s just go win a few Super Bowls and it’ll be great.’”
When God “closed that door,” Tebow said, it was “disappointing.” But in that rejection, the athlete explained, God was able to point him toward something better.
“It’s understanding that it’s not always gonna be perfect, but through the trials and tribulations, our faith is tested and we gain endurance and God uses so much of that to build our faith and to encourage us, but also we can see that he’s with us in the highs and in the lows.”
“Run the Race” hits theaters nationwide Friday, Feb. 22.