Charleston RiverDogs: God Will Not Be Mocked

Thirty-eight men.

That’s how many names I counted on the roster of the Charleston RiverDogs website. I find it truly astounding that not one single player out of 38 had enough courage of conviction or respect for another’s beliefs to put a stop to the scoffing and mocking of one man’s faith. Of course, that man is Tim Tebow. The manager of the team has apologized now… only after backlash from those who were beyond offended at this assault on Tim Tebow’s faith.

The offense(s):

“The Charleston RiverDogs said they didn’t mean any harm when they played the “Hallelujah Chorus” every time Tim Tebow came up to bat Friday night.

And they didn’t mean to offend the former college and NFL quarterback when Charlie, the RiverDogs mascot, started “Tebowing” – a term coined during Tebow’s days at Florida when he would kneel in prayer after touchdowns. Playing off of that, the RiverDogs had several stunts Friday night. In addition to playing the “Hallelujah Chorus,” they had Charlie the Mascot wear black patches under his eyes with “John 3:16” written in white, something Tebow did in college…

Their “apology”

“…While we believe that our promotions were poking fun at Mr. Tebow’s celebrity status rather than his religion or baseball career, our intent was not to offend anyone, and for the fact that we did offend, we are sorry,” Echols told The Post and Courier. “Of the many promotional pieces that we executed, there were a handful on Friday’s game that some construed as in poor taste, and we made it a focus to remove those elements and celebrate Mr. Tebow the remainder of his time in Charleston…” [which, by the way, was not posted on the Riverdogs website at this writing. If they truly were sorry, wouldn’t one think they would have had the decency to at least include it in their “news” section?]

Folks, this is scary stuff.

Their actions are nothing more than a symptom and a clear demonstration of the mob mentality that considers nothing holy anymore. They used the key doctrinal verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” to try to humiliate, not only Tim, but all of us who try to walk by faith according to the Word of God, whether done intentionally or not.

They saw nothing wrong with it until they were called out on it.

Christians, do we not serve the same God? Are we not all brothers and sisters in Christ? When one suffers are we not to all suffer? Are we who claim to be Christians so tolerant now that we forget that God and His Word will NOT be mocked? Let’s be clear. Every antic pulled by the Riverdogs was pre-meditated, planned, and implemented to humiliate Tim Tebow and to scoff at his faith. Who painted the mascot with John 3:16? Who cued the music to play the “Hallelujah Chorus” every time he got up to bat? How many were on the crew who put pictures of each of the Riverdogs on the jumbotron with the slogan, “Not Tim Tebow” and then photos of him crying? Did not one of these men have a clue that they were literally playing with fire when they mocked and scoffed at one of God’s beloved?

I don’t know how Tim continued to come out of that dugout when he knew the opposing team was on a feeding frenzy to show their disdain and disrespect, not for his athletic abilities, but because he’s a man who has chosen to actively live out his faith. Oh yes, I do. He had to be filled abundantly with God’s grace with every step he took–when most of us would have wanted to run and hide.

I don’t give a flip about his baseball career or his football career or his athletic prowess or lack there-of. What I do care about is that an entire team of men thought this mockery was a good idea.

Because of the example of Tim’s faith, I rest assured he has forgiven every single one of those men, as I do. Because of the example of Tim’s faith, I believe “what man meant for evil, God meant for good”. I also know that Tim (and every public figure for that matter who “walks by faith and not by sight”) is in need of our prayers for strength, protection, and endurance in this up-side-down world we live in.

Here’s their “joke” on Twitter:

LydiaSusanne

Lydia Susanne has conducted exclusive interviews with Israeli author Lela Gilbert, activist and lead singer of KANSAS John Elefonte, Todd Daniels of International Christian Concern, and Bob Fu of China Aid, among other notable subjects for PolitiChicks.com.

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