by Eric Metaxas, November 27, 2014 blog, at: www.breakpoint.org
Between 2005 and 2012, Jason Brown lived what many people would consider to be the American dream. He was a starting NFL offensive lineman, first with the Baltimore Ravens and then with the St. Louis Rams.
In 2009, he signed a five-year deal with the Rams worth $37.5 million.
Then he did what many would regard as unthinkable: He walked away from another potentially big contract to become… a farmer. But not just any kind of farmer. Brown became the kind of farmer who embodies what it means to be thankful.
After the Rams released him in 2012, other NFL teams contacted Brown about coming to play for them. He was only 29 years old and could have easily played another two or three years and made millions more.
Instead, he told his agent that he was through with football and was ready to pursue his real dream: becoming a farmer. His agent said he was “making the biggest mistake of his life.” Brown’s reply was “No, I’m not.”
Making the story even more difficult to fathom was that Brown had not grown up on a farm. His father had been a landscaper who took his son with him on jobs. Brown planned on learning how to farm from– are you ready for this?— YouTube and the internet, plus whatever advice other farmers might be willing to give.
If this story sounds a bit quixotic (a colleague of mine says that the 1960s sitcom Green Acres came to mind when reading about Brown), there was nothing starry-eyed or impractical about Brown’s motivations. As he told the Raleigh News-Observer, “I want to help people.”
When he looks out at his 1,000-acre farm, he sees “youngsters learning how to fish” in its ponds, and fields “dedicated to providing fresh produce to shelters and food pantries.”
As any farmer can tell you, things don’t always go according to plan. Thus, “Many of the squash and cucumbers he had planned to give away were not harvested this summer because of heavy rains.” Similarly, “The apple, plum and pear trees need time to mature.”
But earlier this month, he harvested his first crop: five acres of sweet potatoes, fifty tons, which he promptly gave away. As Rebecca Page of the Society of St. Andrew, told a North Carolina television station, “”It’s unusual for a grower to grow a crop just to give it all away.”
You’ve probably guessed what motivates Jason Brown. If you haven’t, here’s a clue: his farm is named “First Fruits.” Brown’s former Rams teammate, All-Pro wide receiver Tory Holt, recalls Brown as “always being very strong in his faith.” According to Holt, Brown “was very encouraging to everyone.”
After his playing days were over, Brown decided that “it was time to start giving back… God has blessed us with this place, “ he said, “and I am to be a steward, to use all these good things to help other people.”
To those who wonder why he walked away from football, Brown replies that “when I think about a life of greatness, I think about a life of service.” As the News and Observer reports, “He is thankful for what he has been given and thankful for what he hopes to do.”
And we are thankful for his example, which should serve as an encouragement to us all.
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To read more and hear Jason Brown talk about his life and his farm go to:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/06/4300809_former-nfl-center-jason-brown.html?rh=1
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Proverbs 3:9 — Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.
1 Samuel 12:24 — But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.
Luke 3:10-11 — “What should we do?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
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Lord Jesus, who came not to be served by to serve, help us live useful lives.
Help us always to encourage, and never to discourage others; to be more ready to praise than to criticize; to sympathize rather than condemn.
Help us always to help, and never to hinder others. Help us to make the work of others easier and not harder. Help us to not find fault with the efforts of others unless it is our job to do so, or unless we are prepared to do the thing better ourselves. Make us more ready to co-operate than object, and more ready to say yes than to say no when our help is needed.
Help us always to be a good example, and never a bad example. Help us always to make it easier for others to do the right thing, and never make it easier for them to go wrong. Help us always to take our stand beside anyone who is standing for the right.
Grant that our lives may be lights shining for you in this dark world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
A Barclay Prayer Book, by William Barclay (1907-1978), page 244-245, (adapted).