Can Pat Robertson Just Stop Talking?

So, Pat Robertson, of the apparently still functioning 700 Club on television allegedly hinted that God's justice would be served if quarterback Peyton Manning's injury was aggravated again once he begins playing for his new NFL team, the Denver Bronco's. Apparently, like many of us who are Tim Tebow fans, Pat feels Tim was dealt an unfair blow by being replaced as starting quarterback by Manning, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts. I'm not any happier than Mr. Robertson, (though I secretly hoped Tim would end up with my favorite team - the Kansas City Chiefs!), Pat isn't helping the cause of leading people in new life with Jesus, the very cause for which Pat claims to stand.

People who have yet to encounter Jesus will be quick to point out Pat's lack of being congruent. (They will call it "hypocrisy.") Representing Jesus, Mr. Robertson claims to stand for all that Jesus is. This includes radical, forgiving, life-transforming love. This includes esteeming others as better than ourselves. This includes unwillingness to judge, lest we open ourselves to judgement. This includes a just and righteous God, but a God who has chosen to become one of us and die for us, rather than dismissing us. I've heard Pat Robertson speak. He can be passionate and focused on God as known in and through Jesus of Nazareth. However, Pat does not offer congruence with all that when he directly or indirectly to wish harm on someone because a follower of Jesus (Tim Tebow) might not have been treated fairly.

Nor am I offering congruence if I come down hard on Pat. Grace and forgiveness are grace and forgiveness, without selectivity. I have to acknowledge and repent of my own lack of offering congruence between what I profess and how I actually live. And that's the point for all who claim Jesus. An unreached world needs our proclamation to match our actions and our day to day living. Faith in Jesus is more caught than taught. It is more impact by how we live than what we say. And it matters. If Matthew 28:19 really is the marching order of the Body of Christ, being congruent is crucial.

Ironically, as least until now and at least as far as I can tell, Tim Tebow is the one who has done his best to push past the hype, the ridicule, being dismissed and everything else in his world to genuinely and humbly yield to Jesus.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.