Why Justin Simmons Chooses to Be a Selfless Man
Simmons is a man of action, but selflessness is what fuels his passion.
By Faith on the Field Staff, January 21, 2022
Our guest on Faith on the Field this week is Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons, arguably one of the NFL's best safeties. He was a Pro Bowl pick last year, and should have made it to this year's Pro Bowl roster. Justin was the Denver Broncos Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee again this season.
As the Man of the Year nominee, Simmons has demonstrated a deep concern for his community; a commitment to give back. As Simmons discussed with our own Rob Maaddi, there was a foundation in his life that contributed to his ability to give back. He told us the most important one:
“First thing is my parents. From a young age, I'll never forget a life lesson I learned in high school from my dad. He always used to volunteer me and my time in high school to do different community work, whether that be Habitat for Humanity, serving communities, maybe coaching. He always made sure that he was going to donate my time to other people.”
Simmons one day asked his dad why he had him do all that volunteer work.
Listen to the episode here:
FAITH ON THE FIELD IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR PROGRAM SPONSORS:
Is Faith on the Field an encouragement to you?
Would you help us get our ministry into new markets? Your financial gift can help us do just that:
“I eventually had a conversation with him about it. I'll never forget the lesson that he taught me. I grew up in a faith-based background, having a relationship with Jesus, and How he lived his life, and how He gave back and talk about being the hands and feet (of Jesus).”
“And so my dad told me, ‘I do all this because it's going to be a valuable life lesson. We are called to a higher purpose, and we are called to serve and to love others. And from a young age I wanted to teach you that your time is not even your time. You are Steward of God's time. And it's how you use that time that really counts and that really matters.’”
Simmons shared with us how that foundation laid by his dad has on-going, positive impact on his choices today.
“And you know, a lot of times you get caught up in selfish moments of ‘Hey it’s my off day…I need time to relax!’, or, ‘I’ve got a few hours here I need time to do this.’ But, I've always kept that life lesson in the back of my head from my dad, that it's not even my timeit’s God's time and I want to make sure that I'm a good steward of that time. There are people that invested into me when they could have been doing so many other things in their lives. And I'm just forever grateful and thankful for that.”
And that attitude of selflessness has definitely impacted the people that Simmons has interacted with.
“It's the reason why I'm here today, and so I don't want to miss an opportunity to do that for another kid. And I don't mean writing a check or, just given a scholarship out. I mean, just being present and donating my time.”
