This week’s Faith, Family, & Football feature is: Keith Elias, Former Indianapolis Colt & New York Giant.
PE: Why is Faith important to you?
Elias: My faith is not only important to me, it is everything to me. My faith in Jesus defines my life. It holds the power of my identity, is the foundation of my integrity, informs my choices, and guides my destiny. If you found out you were the son of a King it would change how you view yourself and the world. My faith tells me I am the son of the King, I was worth dying for, and empowers me to be a force of change through love in this world.
PE: Tell us about your Family and the impact they’ve had on your life.
Elias: I think second only to my faith in Christ, my family has had the biggest impact on me and not just as a child. I have four brothers that I’m all very close to. I speak to one of them almost every day. My mother is still alive and vibrant, and we see her often as well.
We were always an action adventure family, building forts in the house and in the woods, playing sports any chance we could get and using our imaginations to create fun and games for all the kids in the neighborhood. Most of all, we were raised to be a family. I knew that no matter what I did in life, I was loved and accepted, and that gave me a foundation to really believe in myself and go for my dreams.
PE: What does being a father mean to you?
Elias: Being a father to me, is really about having the ability and responsibility to protect, teach, encourage, and empower a child to reach their God given potential and their destiny. My wife and I are in the process of adopting a boy from Russia and are so excited about growing as a family.
PE: How has your faith and family helped you develop off the field?
Elias: The biggest thing I have learned from my family and my faith is that life is so much bigger than football. Football is great, but it is just a part of life, not life itself. To me a good purpose in life is to love those God puts in your path and allow them to love you. Life is about the people and relationships God blesses us with. My family showed me that.
PE: How do you balance Faith, Family, and Football?
Elias: I think the easiest way to balance all of life is to have clear cut priorities. In fact, I have written them down so that when I come to a decision, I only have to look at my list of priorities to help me order my life. My number one priority is Jesus. He comes before all, because He deserves it, and if my relationship with Him isn't right, nothing else in my life will be. After God, comes my wife, children, then extended family. That order is important, because next to my relationship with God my relationship with my wife is the single most important thing in my life and nothing, not even children should get in the way of that. After that comes my job (football), ministry, and hobbies (fun) etc.
PE: What advice would you give to student athletes and current players in regards to Faith, Family, and Football?
Elias: I would say the greatest advice I can give is two-fold, 1.) Create priorities like I have done so you keep your life in balance, and 2.) Make sure you realize that football only goes for so long so please make the most of it. Work as hard as you can, for as long as you can, to play as well and as long as you can, for you will never get this time back again. Amen.
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