Josh Hamilton and Tim Tebow: The Prodigal Son vs the Perfect Son
It seems if you mention Tim Tebow’s name you get a multitude of reactions, some positive but most of them are negative. Why is that? Is it because the media has elevated Tebow to the forefront and refuses to talk about anyone else? If that is the case then people should be mad at the media for doing so. However, the backlash isn’t directed at the media it is directed at Tim Tebow. But what happens when you bring up Josh Hamilton? There isn’t nearly as much negativity directed towards him. I ask the question as to why this is.
The thing about Tebow and Hamilton is that they both believe and speak about the same things. They both give thanks to God and to their savior Jesus Christ. Does anyone remember the last All-Star Game at the “old” Yankee Stadium when Hamilton hit 28 home runs in the Home Run Derby? Who did he give thanks to? None other than Jesus Christ and I can’t remember anyone who criticized him for that. How is that different than anytime that Tebow does the same thing? There is nothing different except for people’s reactions. This is for one main reason, Josh Hamilton comes from a background that is filled with struggles and addictions. He doesn’t come from the “Cookie Cutter Christian Background” that Tebow does therefore society can more easily relate to him.
By now most people know what Hamilton has gone through and where he is at now. He used the drugs and alcohol but has defeated them and has recovered and become the All-Star that he was always projected to be. It’s the classic story of the prodigal son. We look at this story and it provides inspiration for us, whether that is realizing you have a problem with alcohol or a drug addiction and then realizing there is a hope that you can overcome it. Josh Hamilton (link to Hamilton’s I Am Second Video) is the story that we want our lives to be because we have pain and have been to some of the dark places he has been. He made it through which means I can too.
Then there is Tim Tebow who has not struggled in the public eye, who has never walked through the fire and doesn’t have that broken past. He is portrayed as the perfect son and instead of striving to be like him our first inclination is to hate him because he’s too perfect. This can lead to the thought that he’s never had any struggles and if he hasn’t struggled then that is why he acts like he does. He’s the knight in shining armor. We see Tebow as the epitome of life being unfair. Here he is eating every meal with a silver spoon, has all that attention which he clearly doesn’t deserve and has the audacity to thank God for it at every chance he gets. It comes down to jealousy, I want to be like Tebow but I can’t because he’s always had it better than me. Then media is stuffing him down our throats all the time and he hasn’t done anything that warrants it, it’s not fair.
The difference between Josh Hamilton and Tim Tebow is that we can relate better to Hamilton and we want to see him succeed because of where he has been. We have seen Hamilton make mistakes, he has fallen flat on his face, and he is just like the rest of us. When Tebow fails he takes responsibility for it even if it wasn’t his fault and while always saying the right thing. Quite simply the media is giving Tebow all of this attention. But what they are waiting for is for him to fall flat on his face and become the hypocrite that we all want to believe he is. That is the difference as to why we root for Josh Hamilton and sneer at Tim Tebow. It has nothing to do with success in sports and everything to do with envy.
Josh Hamilton and Tim Tebow aren’t that different. They are both Christian athletes who are very open about their faith yet we treat them so differently. It shouldn’t be that way. Jealousy never looks good on you.
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