SUPERBOWL QBs HUMBLE FAITH!
We've had our fair share of athletes project their faith on us. Some have been inspirational, others left you scratching your head thinking "what he is saying about God and his actions don't seem to match up."
Most often, we see athletes point to God after scoring or making a big play and it makes me wonder, "are they truly praising God and trying to give Him glory over themselves, or do they simply do it because God to them is a good luck charm, something that they see sits in their corner and gives them luck and favor over the people on the other team?"
Tim Tebow gave us a lot to talk about a few years ago. Much of his story was inspirational and awesome, some of it was a little much. Was he too showy? Was he humble enough? Everyone had opinions ranging from him being the best Christian EVER to the most offensive person EVER.
In general, I would be in favor of athletes never talking about God (since it seems they are prone to fall heavily into sins like self-importance and idolization) however, they are all sinners just like I am a sinner and I have definitely said things that don't measure up to how I lead my life, too.
THE POINT: I've never heard a lick about Peyton Manning and his walk with the Lord. Until now:
Excerpts from his book, MANNING:
For me generally it had always been the big four: faith, family, friends, and football. . . as important as football is to me, it can never be higher than fourth. My faith has been number one since I was thirteen years old . . .
Some players get more vocal about it . . . and some point to Heaven after scoring a touchdown and praise God after games. I have no problem with that. But I don’t do it, and don’t think it makes me any less a Christian. I just want my actions to speak louder, and I don’t want to be more of a target for criticism . . .
My faith doesn’t make me perfect, it makes me forgiven, and provides me the assurance I looked for half my life ago. . .
I’ve been blessed—having so little go wrong in my life, and being given so much. I pray every night, sometimes long prayers about a lot of things and a lot of people, but I don’t talk about it or brag about it because that’s between God and me, and I’m no better than anybody else in God’s sight.
But I consider myself fortunate to be able to go to Him for guidance, and I hope (and pray) I don’t do too many things that displease Him. . . . I believe, too, that life is much better and freer when you’re committed to God in that way.