Having a Gift Makes it Tougher, Not Easier

I have decided to embark on a few short tutorials based around those fantastic Sovereign Grace ones, such as the keyboard one listed in the last post.

If we are using our gifts to glorify God and serve our brothers and sisters in Christ, and if we understand that God has given us those gifts in the first place, then we should be working hard at developing those gifts.

Do you ever spend time practicing your instrument? Do you consider it necessary to get better at playing the guitar or singing or whatever, or do you consider your ability adequate for what you do in the church music team?

Well, God has called us to be stewards of what he has given to us. Consider the following parable from Matthew 25:

¹⁴^{A)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} "For^{B)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} it will be like a man^{C)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} going on a journey, who called his servants^{a]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵To one he gave five^{D)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} talents,^{b]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} to another two, to another one,^{E)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} to each according to his ability. Then he^{F)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} went away. ¹⁶He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸But he who had received the one talent went and^{G)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹Now^{H)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} after a long time the master of those servants came and^{I)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} settled accounts with them. ²⁰And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' ²¹His master said to him, 'Well done, good and^{J)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">}faithful servant.^{c]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">}^{K)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} You have been faithful over a little;^{L)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} I will set you over much. Enter into^{M)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">}the joy of your master.' ²²And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' ²³His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' ²⁴He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be^{N)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} a hard man, reaping^{O)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here^{P)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} you have what is yours.' ²⁶But his master answered him, 'You^{Q)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹^{R)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And^{S)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} cast^{T)" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">} the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What is clear here is that God doesn't give us anything that we may keep it locked in a strong-box. Instead, we must put God's blessings to work.

If God has given you a musical gift, then great! But what are you doing with it? Often in church music teams we become easily satisfied with little, when God has given us the potential for something really great. Not for the sake of musical excellence, but so that we may serve in the best way we possibly can.

Obviously practicing takes time, but if you are committed to this ministry, then that should be part of your committment. And if you're time is limited (who I am kidding, everyone's time is limited) then make the most of those two or three 15min sessions in the living room with your guitar each week.

To make the most of your time, work on these things in particular:

• Timing. Even get a metronome to help you stay on the beat.
• Musical repertoire. For singers, work on improving your range and ability to sing intervals of two notes. Use a piano or keyboard to help. This will help you hit notes bang on. For tonal instruments, continue to improve your knowledge of chords and scales, so you always have the tools to draw from. For drummers, this continue building on your mental library of beats, so you can always play what compliments the music the best, rather than whatever your hands and feet end up doing
• Memory. Spend time actually learning songs so you can sing them and play them without reading the music. This will make you far more comfortable with a song, even when you have the music. And for instruments, it will help us engage with the words of songs, even when we're focussed on the music.

Set goals for yourself. Spend time practicing and improving on what God has given you, in his strength, so that he may be glorified.