Loving Tim Riggins

It's official. Thanks to my dear friend Jenny, I am addicted to a little town called Dillon, Texas and their local high school football team.

Friday Night Lights. People, I can't stop watching it.

It's a story of a town and a people obsessed with football. Their lives are run by it. The forays into faith and conviction are interesting and impressive. The character development is small town fascinating. The obsession with football is most intriguing.

And of course, my favorite is the sad, broken, defeated character of #33, Tim Riggins.
(A note to the writers, directors, editors - I'm only in season two and I will be sorely disappointed in anything less than Tim's full redemption. Don't let me down).

Riggins' character is not a happy one. He drinks all the time. His parents have left. He was homeless for a while, moving from place to place. He gets in trouble, is failing in school, people tell him that he won't amount to anything and that he's going nowhere. Football seems to be his saving grace.

There's a part of his character that lives like he has nothing to lose. He's willing to lose so others gain and he's willing to protect other people in an almost self-deprecating way. He's caught in misunderstandings all the time and because of his demeanor and personality and reputation, he often gets the short end of the deal and doesn't seem to mind. He does it without complaining, without saying a word.

It's strange. I want to yell, "do something for yourself! fight back! say something!"
But the other part of it is weirdly.. admirable. Honorable.

There's a scene in season two where Tim is caught in a misunderstanding with Coach Taylor's daughter, who was on her way to doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing. Out of good intentions, Tim helps her and is caught in a compromising situation; conclusions are rushed to and Tim is thrown under the bus. And the whole time I'm thinking, 'this wrong will be righted.' But as the show continues, Tim remains silent. It is so weird to me, I can't even take it. My thinking is so different - I've always got a word to say. I want to make sure I'm seen in a good light. I often act like I have a lot to lose - pride, reputation, perfection. I think, why wouldn't you just say something?? Speak up for yourself?? But maybe that's because it's not about that. It's not about saving face or making sure you end up in a good light. Maybe it's thinking less about yourself and what other people think of you and just thinking more about other people.

Knowing my identity rests in Christ, do I really have anything to lose?? The way #33 lives is really almost counter-cultural.

Sure, this character has been beaten down and life hasn't treated him kindly and he has no allies - and that may be the fuel to the way he lives. He knows abandonment, so he may really have nothing to lose. And I know that he's often a jerk and selfish and does detestable things and I believe strongly in the idea that people are responsible for their own choices. But whatever the motives of Tim's character or the stupidity of his actions may be, it has me convicted. Rattled. The people who are used to doing without and are used to being told they won't amount to much - what are we saying to them? The people who are selfish and irresponsible and act like total jerks and do ridiculous things - how do we love them??

When we show love, people shine.

I know there are ways to get angry and to tell the people that annoy you just why they annoy you and I know that it's easy to want to teach people a lesson. But there is always love. There's something about spreading love and encouragement that makes someone act like a better version of themselves. When people are making poor choices, do we love and encourage alongside?

Donald Miller says in Blue Like Jazz that instead of withholding love, we need to pour it out. Pour it on. God has never withheld love to teach us a lesson. And I do?? Our part is to communicate love and approval, to tell people they matter enough that they have been crucified for. Let God do the change and speak truth in love from the heart.

I think the reason this rattles me is because Tim Riggins is real. People like him exist everywhere. There are people who need to know they are loved and that they matter and there are people who are cheering them on from their corner. The people who act tough, like they've got it, the people that need words of life. I relate and I know the great power that exists in words. The great, wonderful, beautiful, enormous opportunity to choose our words wisely. The worth, value, significance, and importance that the love of Jesus Christ places on our lives. We have the responsibility to communicate that. To communicate words of life.

So who are we loving?
Because when we love, people get it. We get it. We get that life is bigger than ourselves and we get that we exist for a higher purpose. We get the meat of the Gospel - that we were saved and called to go out in love. We spread the good news of Jesus, through words and actions and encouragement. And it's contagious! Kind words go a long way and produce the fruit of Christ.

And when we love, we live like we have nothing to lose. Because we rest firmly in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and our identity is in His hope. So we can love the unlovable, encourage the failures and the losers, and spend time with the outcasts because Jesus is our Savior. We imitate and emulate Him and spread love all around.