Christian NFL Player Ben Utecht Wore Wedding Ring Before Marriage to Ward Off Temptation (Interview)
Utecht said that Melissa's question made him so uncomfortable that he hobbled out of the room as fast as he could. Although Utecht could avoid Melissa, he could not avoid God.
As soon as Utecht returned to his dorm room from his encounter with Melissa, he came across an email from his aunt. The email highlighted the biblical message in Proverbs 3:5-6.
"'Trust in the Lord in all your ways, lean not on your understanding. Acknowledge Him and He will direct your path straight,'" Utecht recited the verse, saying that it hit him "like a bolt of lightning."
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"I just felt the Holy Spirit had given me the answer," he explained. "What I hadn't been giving Him was me. It was as simple and profound as that, that I truly hadn't lived a life where I had been giving Him all myself. I think that was the turning point. That was when the light went on to get back on track. That is when the Lord brought my wife into my life and kind of where our dream began."
Utecht and Karyn Stordahl had met at the university and had gotten to know each other through their interaction with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. After a few dates, separated by entire years in between where Utecht wouldn't call her again, he finally felt it in his heart to start a serious relationship with Karyn, the girl who he told his dad years earlier that she is the one he wanted to marry.
Their relationship continued to grow. After Utecht was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Colts in 2004, he later proposed to Karyn at one of her favorite golf courses. Although the two were deeply in love and wanted to start their lives together, they decided to wait about two years to get married since Karyn had aspirations to not only win Miss Minnesota but also participate in the Miss America pageant.
As the couple didn't get married until 2006, Karyn lived back in Minnesota while Utecht was living in Indianapolis and playing with the Colts. The two were only able to see each other about once a month, if that, which presented some real challenges for Utecht.
Utecht explained that he devised a plan to wear a wedding ring in public as a way of guarding against the sexual temptation that commonly faces famous professional athletes out in public.
"I wore a wedding band throughout that entire time and I wanted to do my best to make sure that my intentions were always front and center," Utecht told CP. "I think that was very important and that protected me. I was also just being careful about the environment that I wanted to put myself into, especially while my fiancé was in Minnesota.
"I just figured that I had gotten her a ring and that obviously told people that she was engaged," he continued. "After talking with her about it, I just said, 'You know what, I know it's not typical, but I would like to have something like that as well so that it just kind of lets anybody else know that this guy is taken.' I thought it was something that gave me a lot of peace and gave her peace as well."
Utecht was asked what advice he would give to current Christian athletes that will encounter similar sexual temptations.
"Most importantly, you've got to be in the Word," Utecht said. "Obviously, this analogy has been used quite a bit in sports but the Bible is really God's playbook for our lives. That's where you really begin to know Jesus better and that is when you are spending time in the Word. That may have an effect on your heart and gives you the wisdom and the opportunity to make good choices, according to your faith."
Now that his football career is over, Utecht works as a motivational speaker who helps organizations create "world-class culture." He also participates in a worship band at Berean Baptist Church in Burnsville, Minnesota.
