| Professional football players seem to have it all. We have health, we have fame, and we have fortune. But when the stadium lights dim we often have a few other things you might not expect. There's often a loneliness and an insecurity found among the best athletes.
I liken our situation to the Bible's book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon had fame and fortune - he was the wealthiest and wisest man of this day. Yet in spite of it all, he still had a void in his life. Solomon learned that everything he had was meaningless. He had no contentment.
After being named to six straight Pro Bowl appearances, I began to realize that nothing in this world - fame, fortune, or athletic achievement - could fill my void and give me peace. This led me to seek out those who I knew had that peace, comfort, and contentment. It led me to a teammate named Napoleon Kaufman. Napoleon began to disciple me. He began to teach me about Jesus Christ. He began to share the Bible with me.
In 1997, I began to understand that there was more to the Christian life than I was experiencing. I had grown up going to church, but it wasn't until this point in my life that I truly began to understand what being a follower of Jesus Christ was all about.
Later in that season, in the Oakland Raiders' facility, I turned over all areas of my life - my past, my present, my future, my fame, my fortuen, and my family - to Jesus Christ. I put it all into the Lord's hands and asked for His forgiveness. I surrendered my life to Jesus and was baptized by my teammate, friend, and mentor, Napoleon Kaufman.
In Matthew 10:30 it says, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
It's not until we come to Jesus Christ and give him all areas of our life that God will bless us and craft us into the man, the husband, and the father that He wants us to be.
Since the day I trusted Jesus, I've been a new creation in Christ. I've had a hunger to be in God's Word - the Bible, a hunger to tell others about Jesus Christ, a hunger to be in church, and a hunger to spend time in God's presence.
Today, I know that contentment comes only in Christ. Football now takes a distant third place, compared to my love for God and my love for my family.
Reprinted with permission from Sports Spectrum magazine www.sportsspectrum.com
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