Happy Monday!
Something behind the scenes brings us today’s word-of-the-week…
HONOR
Perhaps you’re aware of a football game that was played yesterday.
Something like 180 million people watched the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers play Super Bowl 50. Whether you measure in dollars spent of chicken wings consumed, the Super Bowl is a unique American spectacle. Nearly lost in the craziness was a prestigious award handed to a man of incredible character.
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin has been named the 2015 Walter Payton Man of the Year. The award is named for Walter Payton, one of the NFL’s iconic figures known as much for his work off the field as for excellence on it.
Anquan Boldin, like Walter Payton, is a dynamic athlete. But he and his wife quickly learned that sports were only a platform from which to do their real work.
“When I first got into the NFL nobody could tell me anything. I was living life,” Boldin said. “I had achieved my dream of one day making it into the NFL, but I soon realized that’s not what life is all about. I realized my purpose in life was not to make it to the NFL and score touchdowns. God put me on this earth for something much bigger than that and I realized and understand what my purpose is now. … It’s my prayer and my hope that I can live out the rest of my life honoring God and help as many people as possible.”
Boldin’s “Q81 Foundation” does charitable work in every community his career has touched. He and his wife wrote a $1 million personal check to endow a scholarship fund.
Anquin Boldin figured it out. He discovered that playing football isn’t about scoring touchdowns, it’s about using your platform to honor God.
We all have a platform. It might not be as big as that of an NFL champion, but that’s not the point.
It’s Monday. Might be a good week to do what you can, where you are, with what you have…to honor God.
Have a Great Week!
It’s worth watching Mr Boldin’s acceptance speech.