Fans aren't used to seeing quarterback Peyton Manning pointing to God after touchdowns are scored and games won. People have their own version of what following Jesus Christ looks like, but in his book "Manning," which Peyton co-wrote with his dad Archie, the Super Bowl winning quarterback reveals how his Christian walk may not look the same as anyone else's -- but it is no greater, and no lesser.
As one fan Sarah Jumper stated on Facebook: "He [Peyton] is the greatest football quarterback ever and he's an even greater man. God certainly outdid himself when he made him and the entire Manning family."
Since Peyton accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at the age of 13, he said his faith has been his top priority. He grew up in a Bible-believing home, and said he tries to be the best man he can be, but he would rather his actions outshine his words.
Transcript via Minding the Truth "On God and the Christian Revelation" blog points out insight via book excerpts into Peyton's view of religion and his relationship with Jesus:
"Like my dad, I make it a point when I speak to groups to talk about priorities, and when it's school kids, I rank those priorities as faith, family, and education, then football."
"For me generally it had always been the big four: faith, family, friends and football. And I tell all of them that as important as football is to me, it can never be higher than fourth. My faith has been number one since I was 13 years old and heard from the pulpit on a Sunday morning in New Orleans a simple question: "If you died today, are you one hundred percent sure you'd go to heaven?"
"Cooper was there and Eli [Peyton's two brothers] but it didn't hit them at the time the way it did me. It was a big church, and I felt very small, but my heart was pounding. The minister invited those who would like that assurance through Jesus Christ to raise their hands, and I did. Then he invited us to come forward, to take a stand, and my heart really started pounding. And from where we sat, it looked like a mile to the front. But I got up and did it."
Peyton committed his life to Christ that day, and said "that faith has been most important to me ever since. Some players get more vocal about it -- the Reggie Whites, for example -- 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 than I already am."
"Somebody sees you drinking a beer, which I do, and they think, 'Hmmmm, Peyton says he's this, that, or the other, and there he is drinking alcohol. What's that all about?'"
"Christians drink beer," states Peyton. "So do non-Christians. Christians also make mistakes, just as non-Christians do. My faith doesn't make me perfect, it makes me forgiven, and provides me the assurance I looked for half my life ago. I think God answered our prayers with Cooper, and that was a test of our faith."
"But I also think 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."
Peyton states he considers himself fortunate to be able to go to Him [God] for guidance, and he "hopes (and prays) I don't do too many things that displease Him before I get to Heaven myself."
"I believe, too, that life is much better and freer when you're committed to God in that way. I find being with others whose faith is the same has made me stronger. J.C. Watts and Steve Largent, for example. They're both in Congress now. We had voluntary pregame chapel at Tennessee, and I attend chapel every Sunday with players on the team in Indianapolis. I have spoken to church youth groups, and at Christian high schools. And then simply as a Christian, and not as good a one as I'd like to be."
How does Peyton justify football in the context of "love your enemy?" He says to kids: "Well, football is most definitely a 'collision sport,' and I can't deny it jars your teeth and at the extreme, can break your bones. But I've never seen it as a 'violent game;' there are rules to prevent that, and I know I don't have to hate anybody on the other side to play as hard as I can within the rules."
"I think you'd have to get inside my head to appreciate it, but I do love football. And, yes, I'd play it for nothing if that was the only way, even now when I'm no longer a child. I find no contradiction in football and my faith."
"Ah, but do I 'pray for victory?' No, except as a generic thing. I pray to keep both teams injury free, and personally, that I use whatever talent I have to the best of my ability."
"But I don't think God really cares about who wins football games, except as winning might influence the character of some person or group. Besides. If the Colts were playing the Cowboys and I prayed for the Colts and Troy Aikman prayed for the Cowboys, wouldn't that make it a standoff?"
"Dad says it can take twenty years to make a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it. I want my reputation to be able to make it through whatever five-minute crises I run into. And I'm a lot more comfortable knowing where my help is." (Manning, pp. 362-364)
