"I jump into a sand pit for a living"
Needing God
Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well Matthew 6:33My friend Steve Connor tells the story of an event that was important in his journey to faith. He saw a performance by the world’s strongest man. The man then challenged the audience: “I am the strongest man in the world and I can’t do without Jesus for one second – how do you think you can?”
In the last year I have had the privilege of interviewing a number of the world’s top footballers for a video project. One question I like to ask is something like “You are successful, rich and famous, why do you still need Jesus?” I am always struck by how normal, human and vulnerable even the top stars are. This is the answer, Lucio, the Brazil captain gave me.
I believe this is a wrong idea many people have. I have personally heard people say many times “You are happy and joyful because you have money and you play for a big club, or for the National Team or because of good living conditions”. I think these are totally irrelevant and untrue. I believe that the fact I play for a great club, play on the Brazil team and have a wife and family who support me just shows me that I need God all the more - because of the demands of the club, the National Team, and the attention I need to give to my wife and children. I believe it is in these moments where we need God the most. I always tell people, including my wife and children, that we need to seek God first and He will take care of the rest. Today, if I only had football, fame, titles, but didn’t have my family and didn’t have God, I would not be happy. I believe that in order to be happy, you have to be right with God. You have to be searching after God and walking with Him”