By Mallory Mattingly
Atlanta Falcons running back Nathan Carter doesn’t define success by wins and losses but by his salvation through Jesus Christ.
“I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw @timtebow say, ‘The greatest tragedy is being successful at everything that doesn’t matter.’ That hit me because it used to be me,” Carter began.
“In high school and college, I thought success meant fame, scholarships, grades, promotions, and money. I kept climbing my own mountain, the wrong one, driven by pride, and every time I reached a new height, I’d look around and think, ‘Is this it?'” he reflected.
Carter then quoted Tom Brady, one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL: “Why do I have three rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? There has to be more than this.”
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“I’ve felt that. I didn’t have rings or millions, but I knew the disappointment of reaching a goal and realizing it didn’t deliver the peace, joy, or fulfillment I thought it would,” the Falcons player added. “I worked hard, sacrificed relationships, pushed myself to get ‘there’…, and when I finally arrived, I was still empty.”
The running back pointed to Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, which reads, “Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless — like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.”
“This isn’t a message against goals,” Carter clarified. “It’s a reminder that success built on fame, money, and status will always leave you empty. Those things are temporary. You can chase everything your eyes desire and build all the empires you want, but in the end, they all crumble into dust.”
“Here’s the Good News: Jesus came for people like me who kept climbing the wrong mountain,” he continued. “He came, bled, and died so we wouldn’t have to search for fulfillment in things that can’t satisfy. He invites us to find true success in His kingdom, the One that won’t fall and the One we can freely enjoy.”
Carter wants to use his “success for things that really matter.”
“What matters is eternity. What matters is God’s purposes. What matters is losing the world so that you won’t lose your soul,” he concluded.
While it’s easy to become over-focused on money and fame, especially as a pro athlete, what ultimately matters for Carter, Tebow and all of us should be spreading the gospel and being the hands and feet of Jesus in a world that so desperately needs Him.
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