Whatever you do, do it as Unto the LORD – Christians in the NFL – Ryan Tannehill – Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins QB - Ryan Tannehill

Expectations.  We all face them.  As an unproven player at the NFL level, top draft picks are given the task of carrying the  hopes and  dreams of an entire fan base before they even put on the jersey of the team that drafted them.  And the expectations are only more stringent if you are a first round draft pick.  Now if you are a first round draft pick, and a quarterback, then the expectations are almost unmeasurable.

Tannehill was Dolphins first 1st round QB since Dan Marino

With all that in mind, the only way I imagine that you can really survive and keep your sanity, is to live and play for God and trust Him to lead you however He wants.  That is what we see with last spring’s #8 overall pick – Ryan Tannehill.

Drafted out of Texas A & M, Tannehill became the first Dolphins first round quarterback since Dan Marino – lofty expectations to be sure.  And while the first season has come with some growing pains, Tannehill shares in this interview that his favorite scripture is 1 Corinthians 3.23 (although he may mean Colossians 3.23)  which talks about doing all things as unto the Lord, not to man.

Check it out

If we try to please the people that are all around us (bosses, family, friends, coaches, etc.) we can get run down in a hurry.  Plus, we will never keep everyone happy.  God is truly the only audience that we need to be living for.  And he is easier to please then men because His love for us is not tied up to what we do.  His love for us is unconditional.

Ryan Tannehill is having a decent rookie season

The freedom that we get from living for God gives us perspective that when things get hard and we fail in something, we are reminded that those things that we can trip up on are not what is important.  Read this article from the ultimatetexans.com blog how Tannehill forged a friendship with a boy that had just lost his father, and even though the Aggies were coming off a tough loss, it was incomparable to the loss that the boy had just suffered.

The NFL can be tough, and the scrutiny that Tannehill and his young bride, Lauren face in the spotlight will be something that only their faith will help them cope with.  But with their lives grounded in their faith in God and their love for each other, God will continue to use them to impact the lives of those around them and shine His light wherever they go.