Faith comes first for Matthew Slater, then football.
“Even though I was 7 years old, I think I was old enough to understand and grasp it on a broad spectrum, so I started walking with the Lord at 7,” Slater says. “And from there it’s been quite a journey.”
On Sunday, the New England Patriots’ special teams captain will join his team as they face off against the Atlanta Falcons.
But Slater chalks it all up to earthly gains, not eternal rewards.
“Obviously as I work and prepare to play football, I’m always going to give everything I have. But I think on the back end, where you get off the football field, the relationships with people you build, especially in the locker room and the community and in your home, that’s very important,” Slater says.
Slater just won the Action Bart Starr Award, granted annually to the person in the NFL who exemplifies character and goodness on and off the field. His father, Jackie Slater, won the same award in the 1960s.
“My faith is the core pillar in my life. It comes before anything. It’s something from a very young age that has given me direction and purpose beyond what I do professionally. It’s helped me lead in the home and it’s helped me lead on the job,” Slater says.
“I think everything I do, I do for an audience of one.”
Amen. {eoa}
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