This past week, the news carried a story about prominent NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has now signed a record-breaking 10-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. It is worth an eye-popping $503 million!
Precious few people in this world will get the chance to ink a deal with a half a billion dollars! And yet, while this one step will present Mahomes with innumerable opportunities in life, it also calls for him to give up certain activities. So much so that the average everyday person will be able to undertake several fun activities his contract with the Chiefs now prohibits him from doing.
According to Mahomes, “I still don’t think I’m allowed to play basketball. I’m sure baseball is not going to be allowed as well. I know there’s a lot of them. They have like (sic) everything from jet skiing too, I don’t know what all the things are. I read a lot of them. It’s pretty much every physical activity you could possibly do. I’ll probably be sticking with football and video games for now.”
The details of the contract state that the quarterback gets $477 million in guaranteed mechanisms, plus the ability to opt-out at several points in the deal if his mechanisms aren’t exercised. He also has a no-trade clause.
Mahomes had two years remaining on his existing contract with the Chiefs; so the new 10-year deal doesn’t take effect until 2022. He will still be 36 when his contract expires.
The article also goes on comment on all the congratulations he has and is receiving from famous people all over the world. While I do not count myself among the latter, I would add my voice of congratulations to the chorus. He seems to be a fine young man; and I wish him the very best.
I am struck, however, by the terms of the contract. This young man has been richly blessed by God with certain talents. He has also been chosen to have a huge impact upon the world (at least the world of sports). I trust he will continuing his God-given talent to impact his world, both on and off the playing field. I’m sure he will.
Of course, you and I have also been created by the very same God. We have also been chosen to be on His team! His Son made that possible by redeeming us. As if this were not enough, He then gifted each of us with certain talented and skills with which He intends to see us a make a difference, both in this world and the next. And then He provided the church as a means for us to just that.
But being a member of God’s team also has certain requirements. Consequently, like gifted professional athletes, who are required to forego certain activities that might otherwise prove detrimental to their priorities, we too must be prepared to give up certain activities for the good of the Kingdom of God.
This applies to unwholesome activities, to be sure. In chapter 12, verse 1, the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews admonishes us to “throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles” and then to “run with endurance the race set out for us”.
But it can also apply to wholesome activities. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this in his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 10, verses 23 and 24), where, quoting those who claimed freedom in Christ to participate in any activity they chose, he writes:
“‘Everything is permissible,’ but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible,’ but not everything is edifying. No one should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
As if to echo and underscore this sentiment, the Apostle Peter (in his First New testament Letter, chapter 4, verse 10) later adds the following admonition:
“As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.”
In light of these things, I leave you with a simple question. What are you willing to give up for the greater good of the Kingdom of God? It might be a little hard, at first; but the results will well be worth the sacrifice.
After all, the same Jesus who in Matthew 6:33 challenged us to seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness also promised us (in Luke 18:19-20) that “everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”
ARTICLE SOURCES:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/sports/patrick-mahomes-prohibited-activities-contract;
https://www.foxbusiness.com/sports/patrick-mahomes-record-503-million-contract-details-revealed.
SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_corinthians/10.htm;
https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_peter/4.htm;
https://www.biblehub.com/matthew/6-33.htm; and
https://www.biblehub.com/nlt/luke/18.htm.
Precious few people in this world will get the chance to ink a deal with a half a billion dollars! And yet, while this one step will present Mahomes with innumerable opportunities in life, it also calls for him to give up certain activities. So much so that the average everyday person will be able to undertake several fun activities his contract with the Chiefs now prohibits him from doing.
According to Mahomes, “I still don’t think I’m allowed to play basketball. I’m sure baseball is not going to be allowed as well. I know there’s a lot of them. They have like (sic) everything from jet skiing too, I don’t know what all the things are. I read a lot of them. It’s pretty much every physical activity you could possibly do. I’ll probably be sticking with football and video games for now.”
The details of the contract state that the quarterback gets $477 million in guaranteed mechanisms, plus the ability to opt-out at several points in the deal if his mechanisms aren’t exercised. He also has a no-trade clause.
Mahomes had two years remaining on his existing contract with the Chiefs; so the new 10-year deal doesn’t take effect until 2022. He will still be 36 when his contract expires.
The article also goes on comment on all the congratulations he has and is receiving from famous people all over the world. While I do not count myself among the latter, I would add my voice of congratulations to the chorus. He seems to be a fine young man; and I wish him the very best.
I am struck, however, by the terms of the contract. This young man has been richly blessed by God with certain talents. He has also been chosen to have a huge impact upon the world (at least the world of sports). I trust he will continuing his God-given talent to impact his world, both on and off the playing field. I’m sure he will.
Of course, you and I have also been created by the very same God. We have also been chosen to be on His team! His Son made that possible by redeeming us. As if this were not enough, He then gifted each of us with certain talented and skills with which He intends to see us a make a difference, both in this world and the next. And then He provided the church as a means for us to just that.
But being a member of God’s team also has certain requirements. Consequently, like gifted professional athletes, who are required to forego certain activities that might otherwise prove detrimental to their priorities, we too must be prepared to give up certain activities for the good of the Kingdom of God.
This applies to unwholesome activities, to be sure. In chapter 12, verse 1, the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews admonishes us to “throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles” and then to “run with endurance the race set out for us”.
But it can also apply to wholesome activities. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this in his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 10, verses 23 and 24), where, quoting those who claimed freedom in Christ to participate in any activity they chose, he writes:
“‘Everything is permissible,’ but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible,’ but not everything is edifying. No one should seek his own good, but the good of others.”
As if to echo and underscore this sentiment, the Apostle Peter (in his First New testament Letter, chapter 4, verse 10) later adds the following admonition:
“As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.”
In light of these things, I leave you with a simple question. What are you willing to give up for the greater good of the Kingdom of God? It might be a little hard, at first; but the results will well be worth the sacrifice.
After all, the same Jesus who in Matthew 6:33 challenged us to seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness also promised us (in Luke 18:19-20) that “everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”
ARTICLE SOURCES:
https://www.foxbusiness.com/sports/patrick-mahomes-prohibited-activities-contract;
https://www.foxbusiness.com/sports/patrick-mahomes-record-503-million-contract-details-revealed.
SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_corinthians/10.htm;
https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_peter/4.htm;
https://www.biblehub.com/matthew/6-33.htm; and
https://www.biblehub.com/nlt/luke/18.htm.