Pouring Into Others Before Our Expiration Date: Lessons from Nolan Smith and Rush Limbaugh

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When defensive edge rusher Nolan Smith of the University of Georgia was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the NFL draft in 2023, there were immediately high expectations for how he would perform for the organization (Zangaro, 2025). Smith put tremendous pressure on himself and wilted under the ongoing public expectation. But in his second season with the team in 2024, Smith rose to the challenge and became an integral part of the Eagles’ winning defense, beating the heavily favored Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.

Nolan Smith remembers that one of his teammates, Brandon Graham, poured himself into Smith to encourage him that he could do what he was born to do. Smith had the talent, and he had worked hard through college to perfect his game. All he had to do was to be himself – and Graham encouraged this (Zangaro, 2025).

Smith recalled how Graham encouraged him: “He just kept pushing me and he leaned into me. As we say in the south, he just poured into my glass just a little bit more. He just kept pouring into my glass and he believed in me” (Zangaro, 2025).

I wish that each of us was born with an expiration date. I wish that somewhere on our person was a timestamp that was hidden from others but that only we knew. Most of us have no idea how many years we will have available to us. Moses gave us one idea when he wrote this in Psalm 90: “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10 ESV). There is such incredible insight in this quote.

Because most people don’t know their expiration date, they try to run out the clock on their own self-interest, assuming that everything will be fine until they get caught short at the end. Witness the man in the Bible whose land produced an incredible harvest (Luke 12:13-21). Instead of sharing what God had given to him and “pouring” into others (the point of the parable) he decided to tear down his already stuffed barns and build even bigger ones (Luke 12:18). The scripture says that he was a fool because his expiration date came up that night, before he knew it. 

The great Rush Limbaugh had an expiration date on his life (Chappell, 2020). That may be a crass thing to say. Once he found out that there was no recovering from the terminal lung cancer diagnosis that he received, his heart became much more tender and appreciative of the privileges he had been given to do his radio show (Chappell, 2020).

I believe Rush lived his life in such a way that he always appreciated what God had given to him and was willing to “pour” himself out for his audience. Limbaugh was met with mockery and derision when he would regularly mention on his radio program that he had “talent on loan from God” (Foster, 2010). One time Limbaugh addressed this issue with a caller who called in to criticize this statement. He simply explained that he knew for himself that what he was able to do was not something that he had developed on his own (Limbaugh, 2005). Certainly, he had honed his craft and worked hard to improve the quality of his content and his knowledge. But he consistently gave the glory to God for what he was able to do, particularly towards the end of his life.

One author and executive coach, in differentiating between talents and abilities, described talent as “what you have been given;” and then ability is how you grow the talent that you’ve been given (Hartwig, 2019). A talent is something innate or a natural aptitude towards something. But abilities seem to be acquired knowledge and developed skills built upon natural aptitudes, honed through practice and experience. But then for what purpose are we to use our abilities? It is God alone who gives us the ability to produce wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV).

Kids might play high school sports based on their innate talent. But the number of high school football players who can develop those talents into advanced abilities is amazingly small. One website estimated that the percentage of high school football players who become professional football players is a fraction of a percent, .023% (MarketScale, 2023). So, Nolan Smith was an exceptional High School athlete, and a very good college football player. But for him to achieve great success in professional sports would require much more hard work to hone his abilities. It would also require some encouragement, with someone “pouring” into his life, to help him to focus and work through the distractions. And Brandon Graham’s part in Smith’s success is not something to be overlooked – certainly Smith did not dismiss it.

Imagine if everyone knew the expiration date to their time here on earth. I’m not sure if that would cause people to be more reflective in their approach to their daily lives, but it certainly has had that impact on my life. With the disease that we believe I have, we know that there is nothing that can be done about it except to treat the symptoms. Eventually, the systems will shut down and will not continue to function. Meanwhile, there is an average number of years that people with this disease generally survive.

Instead of complaining about getting the short end of the stick, I want to fully embrace the opportunity to live as full a life as I can, doing what Brandon Graham did to Nolan Smith and “pouring” myself out into the lives of others before my expiration date. I believe this is exactly how Jesus chose to live.

Jesus lived in relative obscurity for 30 years, unrecognizable as a savior and healer. The people in his hometown of Nazareth were completely amazed when He sat before them and declared that he was the fulfillment of prophecy (Mark 6:1-6). They even tried to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:28-30). Yet in the brief time that Jesus had, He turned the world upside down and unleashed a movement that would change history and the destiny of many.

There is a word used to describe how Jesus “emptied Himself” of the privilege of deity (Philippians 2:7) and humbly put on a human form, in order to give His life for each of us. While this thought is only found here in the New Testament, it really represents Jesus’s attitude throughout his three limited years of ministry. He said on several occasions that, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). Jesus saw His mission as one of pouring out, of giving His whole self, “to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners…” (Isaiah 61:1) – the same scripture He read in His synagogue address to his family and friends in Nazareth. And for this they tried to throw Him off a cliff!

The people of Nazareth had contempt for Jesus, just as many people had contempt for Rush Limbaugh, as well as for Nolan Smith. Many people perceived Smith to be a draft bust and wasted draft pick (Benjamin, 2025). But Brandon Graham just poured into Smith, no matter what anyone else said. And Rush kept pouring himself into his audience, like Jesus poured into His disciples – and they changed the world!

My challenge to you is to use your abilities to release the potential in others, and to not simply focus on developing those abilities for your own benefit. We were given life with the choice: to “build bigger barns” for ourselves; or to pour ourselves out for the benefit of others. Don’t just wait until you retire, or have more time, which will never happen – we have to make it happen.

If you knew you only had one year to live, how much different would you live your life and give of yourself to others, knowing that the abilities you have could help so many other people? I think Moses had this right when later in Psalm 90, after discussing our potential expiration date (Psalm 90:10 mentioned above), he then wrote, “So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

You need to put an imaginary expiration date on your life. Your life is NOT your own – everything you have has been given to you (Psalm 24:1). We have brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of it (1 Timothy 6:7). Don’t you think it’s about time that you poured out your life on behalf of others?

Sources:

Benjamin, C. (2025, June 5). First-round NFL Draft picks who overcame bust status. CBS Sports [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/first-round-nfl-draft-picks-who-overcame-bust-status-ravens-rashod-bateman-the-latest-to-turn-career-around/.

Chappell, B. (2020, October 20). Rush Limbaugh Says His Lung Cancer Is Terminal, Going In ‘Wrong Direction.’ NPR News [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2020/10/20/925782187/rush-limbaugh-says-his-lung-cancer-is-terminal-going-in-wrong-direction.

Foster, S. (2010, November 24). Talents on Loan from God. Heelcatcher [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://heelcatcher.com/talents-on-loan-from-god/.

Hartwig, J. (2019, July 12). The Difference Between Talent and Ability. LinkedIn [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/difference-between-talent-ability-john-hartwig/.

Limbaugh, R. (2005, April 8). “Talent on Loan from God, Explained for the Humorless.” The Rush Limbaugh Show. Retrieved from https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2005/04/08/talent_on_loan_from_god_explained_for_the_humorless/.

MarketScale (2023, May 24). From the High School Field to an NFL Success. MarketScale [Business Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://marketscale.com/industries/sports-and-entertainment/from-the-high-school-field-to-an-nfl-success/.

Zangaro, D. (2025, June 7). The lasting impact of Brandon Graham on Nolan Smith. NBC Sports Philadelphia [Web Blog]. Retrieved from https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/nolan-smith-brandon-graham-year-3-edge-rusher-super-bowl/668945/.