Cool Calm and Collected

Being Eli Manning is not easy, at least in my eyes it is not. Here is why:

• He is constantly compared to his brother, Peyton Manning
• He has been called inconsistent so many times; you would think his middle name is inconsistent!
• He has been called comical and not a leader in the hurdle
• He has been called the "little brother" or the "guy next door" when compared to Peyton and Brady respectively
• His demeanor has been questioned, especially when he throws an interception, has an incomplete pass, or loses a game-Go figure!!! He needs to be jumping up and down when that happens!
  
• The media has portrayed him as a quarterback who has no respect from his teammates, let alone the Giants nation
• One sports media personnel had the audacity to make this statement, "...Didn't think a Manning-led Giants team in the Super Bowl -- was likely, even possible." Who has the last laugh now, may I ask?

The list is endless, but Eli has proved time and time again that he is a man who has risen above every criticism, every skepticism, and misrepresentation, at least on our part. The world can say what it wants to say about him, but Eli will not exchange his glove, which fits him perfectly, to wear the glove some people are trying to give him, which is??

Here is what Eli had to say about himself concerning how he is perceived:

"You can't listen to it, whether you're playing great and they think you're the king of the world and can't do anything bad…or when you're not playing your best football and they're saying everything they say, you can't buy into it. You got to listen to yourself. You got to listen to your players and coaches."

I believe we are all guilty of trying to "conform" people to match our expectations of them. If they live up to our expectations, they are the greatest. If they fail, we might as well throw in the towel and cut them off. It reminds me of someone who went through something similar, that is, the expectations that were placed on him which, brought about praise and judgment.

A week before his crucifixion, the whole nation of Israel was singing praises to Jesus, "Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord..." (Mk 11:10) Many people were throwing their coats for Jesus to walk on even though he was riding on a colt. Other instances of Jesus getting accolades can be read below:

• "When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching: for He was teaching them as one having authority. (Mt 7:28)
• "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" (Mk 4:41)
• "A great prophet has risen among us! And God has visited His people." (Lk 7:16)
• "We have believed and come to know that you are the holy one of Israel (Jn 6:69)

(Rings a bell? Manning wins three straight playoff games and he is super bowl bound? The praises!!!! ☺ )

However, those accolades lasted, but for a short time. After the Hosannas, a different sound was heard:

• "Crucify Him!" (Mk 15:14)
• "Save yourself and come down from the cross." (Mk 15: 30)
• "He saved others, He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ the king of Israel now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe. Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting him." (Mk 15: 31-32)

(Rings a bell? Loses the first two games of the season and loses most of their home games! The judgments??)

What happened? Human nature happened!!! The ability for humanity to praise and judge someone based upon their expectations is not something new. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. One minute Adam is declaring, "Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh," when he sees the creation of the woman, Eve. Then he is upset at God when he says, "The woman you gave me to be with made me..." because she made him partake of the forbidden fruit!

The flip side of not wanting to be judged but always praised can be detrimental. We see an example in scripture of a king who wanted to conform to everyone's wish list, that his desire to please everyone and not be judged, or wrongly perceived, cost him his kingdom. Does King Saul Sound familiar-the first King of Israel? (I Samuel 15)

Jesus, on the other hand did not try and please everyone who walked the face of the earth-only God got that privilege. John 2:24 states, "But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man."

"He did not need man's testimony about man!" Now that is a tough stand. How often do we seek out man's testimony to validate who we are? Is it wrong to seek man's testimony? No! We see how Paul would place his "stamp of approval" on someone to enable the community to accept such a one. However, it becomes dangerous for the individual if your whole identity and livelyhood is wrapped up in man's testimony, and what they think about you. I believe we all know what we are capable of doing! We shout praises one day, we cry crucify you the next day!

So how do we get to the place were we do not fall in this trap? I have a few suggestions, which are pretty common:

• We need to let God identify who we are and hold dearly to that His identify. Knowing this identity can only be done by spending time in His word and allowing the word to bear fruit in us. Once we know who we are, we are capable of looking at people with a new set of lenses!!
  
• We need to surround ourselves with people who believe in us, and who see the best in us even when we mess up
• We need to be comfortable in our own skin so that we know who we really are and not depend on others to define us.
  
• We also need to train ourselves to believe in people and give each person the benefit of the doubt. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
  

Eli has been thrown to the wolves, has been insulted on national television, and has sometimes been doubted by his own teammates. What has kept him going, even earning a trip to the super bowl in his forth year in the NFL (compared to his brother Peyton who made it to the super bowl in his ninth year)? He discovered himself, has accepted his mistakes, is learning from his mistakes, and while the world awaits his coronation as the next great quarterback, he will be crowned the MVP for super bowl XLII!!! Eli has already succeeded, he does not need to wait on man to validate who he is, he knows who is he!

What has Eli taught me? To always give people a chance to grow and prove themselves even when they do not seem to exude any glimmer of hope. I was once in their shoes. You can never judge a book by its cover. Read the contents first, and then judge. And even if you give it a negative review, the book has been written and the final story has been told...even though it does not mean there cannot not be a revised edition!