By Mallory Mattingly
Former NFL fullback Tyler Clutts knows that putting your identity in your performance leaves you without purpose, as he shared in a recent Sports Spectrum “I Once Was” video.
Clutts played in the NFL from 2011 to 2015. He began his career with the Chicago Bears, followed by the Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys, where he would end his career.
As Clutts grew older, he began to develop a “performance-based identity, that was all about performing — the more I did, the more I earned — and that was how I approached Christianity at that point. I was pursuing perfection and progress, and it was exhausting,” he said in the video.
When Clutts joined the NFL, he felt “no satisfaction. It was just empty and bland.”
Thankfully, his teammate Josh McCown invited him to a Christian conference. Around that time, Clutts and his wife had had their first child and were in a “rocky place.”
“At the conference, Dr. Tony Evans spoke about the love of Christ — that it’s freely given and we don’t have to earn it. It was ours if we would simply accept it,” the fullback recalled. “For the very first time, I felt a presence outside of myself surround and cover me. I literally felt, ‘Okay, I’ve got to go to my knees and pray.’ For the first time, it was a reciprocal relationship — I felt Jesus in a way others had described my whole life. I felt free, light and worthy.”
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Since that moment at the conference, Clutts has been on a journey.
“When I center myself with Christ, get into the Word and draw close to Him, that’s when I feel peace. That’s when I can love my wife the way she deserves, love my kids the way God calls me to and go out into the community to be a light in a very dark world. I’ll never forget that February morning in Orlando, Florida, when I first felt Jesus’s presence, and I try to get back to that place as often as I can,” he explained.
Clutts and his wife just celebrated 15 years of marriage this past February. He took to Instagram to share some words about his wife, Tiffany.
Related: MLB Shortstop Tommy Edman Shares Testimony: ‘I Once Was’
“Happy 15th Anniversary to my beautiful wife! I am eternally grateful for you, not only for the love you give but also for the unwavering faith you inspire in me and those around you,” Clutts wrote. “Your selflessness knows no bounds, always putting others before yourself and bringing joy to our lives. Thank you for being my partner in faith, my rock through challenges, and my greatest blessing. Every moment with you is a reminder of how lucky I am. Here’s to celebrating our love and the beautiful journey God has laid out for us! I love you deeply!
Most of us won’t be NFL stars, but we all can relate to putting our identity into our performance, just like Clutts. But as he found, that life leaves us exhausted and without purpose. Thankfully, Jesus offers freedom from relying on our own works, allowing us to live the way He intended.
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