ZA MAGAZINE // seek truth.

I can humbly tell you that this is one of the best articles I’ve ever written. It wasn’t because of my skill as a writer, but rather just because God gave me something REALLY good. All I had to do was write it down.

Romans 6:13 ESV
(13) Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

Acts 9:15 ESV
(15) But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

1 Peter 2:9 MSG
(9) But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you–

The purpose of these three passages is to establish that we are God’s instruments. This is where it’s explicitly said in some translations (the first one almost universally used the word ‘instruments’), and you’ll find it implicitly said elsewhere. We’re chosen by God so that he can use us.

So when we think of instruments, we think specifically of musical instruments. So, in a way, the trumpet that I played was an instrument, a tool for me to produce music, in the same way that we are a tool for God to make himself known in the world. Is that fair? Okay.

So, point one. I played trumpet for seven years. I played on a beater rental trumpet, and I played on a really nice one. It was obvious enough that when I got pretty good, I could use any trumpet to play. Some would sound better than others, but all were usable.

Point two. I would play the trumpet at concerts, and what I found was that whenever I was done, people applauded me. They didn’t cheer for my trumpet, they didn’t say “Your trumpet played really well tonight.” That’s a ridiculous thing to think! We all know that it’s not the instrument that utilizes the player, it’s the player who utilizes the instrument.

Point three. Every trumpet that you’ll see on the shelf of a music store is a functional piece with pretty much no flaws, but some have specialty things. Maybe it’s made of silver. Maybe it has a ring on the piping of the first valve so that you can move it in and out and get better tuning. (there’s gotta be an actual name for that) These are things that the trumpet is blessed to have because it makes them better. But wouldn’t it be ridiculous if a trumpet said “Man, I’m so great cause I have these extras on me!” (and not just because a trumpet would then be talking!) If the creator of the trumpet heard this, he’d laugh, because he knows that it was he who gave the trumpet these gifts.

Isn’t our (and really I mean my) pride funny? All we are are instruments. When we do good things, it’s because God has crafted us in a certain way to be able to do certain things. Man, I have to fight pride a lot when I’m up front with a worship team. Isn’t that ridiculous! All I am is an instrument for God. My voice is a gift that could be easily taken away. My ability to harmonize is a gift that God has given. And yet I had this pride coming up, telling me that I should take the credit for everything? Also, if I take credit for things, or if you are praising the person and not God for something, it’s like applauding a trumpet!

What’s cool about this analogy is that all instruments are different and have different purposes. If you ever hear a guy play on a Stradivarius violin, the purpose of that violin is to showcase the talent of the player and just create beautiful noises. But I guarantee you that that guy had a really cheap and crummy violin that he started out on, and the purpose of that instrument was to build up his skill and make him better. Both had different purposes and yet neither one is more important than the other. We’re the same way; we all have different purposes in our lives. We’ll be used in different ways. People look at a Billy Graham or a Mother Theresa or a Pope or a C.H. Spurgeon and these guys are just giants who have a grand purpose because they are finely crafted instruments. But maybe if it wasn’t for a lower priest somewhere or a Sunday school teacher or even a good Christian friend, perhaps these people would not have ascended to their positions.

Man, I’m done. Just think about what a musical, or any other type of instrument is, and remember that we are instruments of God. We have no room for pride, but take joy in the fact that we have a purpose and can showcase the might and power of an amazing God.

Grace and peace,
~ Brendan

Gotta admit, this one’s an oldie. It was originally posted on my old Xanga blog on 9/23/06. I added it not because I’m already desperate for material, but because I feel that it is such an important message. Below are two comments that followed the original post; I included them because they have some great insights. I bet you all have some great insights as well!

Ha.

St. Augustine would have said that all of us are beater trumpets, but we’re still trumpets.

This is one of my bigger struggles, so it was good to read. Pride obstructs any real pursuit of virtue because it keeps us from putting confidence in God, which is the most fundamental thing we can do if we wish to do anything difficult. In that sense, it is one of the most serious faults we can have.

It is ironic that in order to withstand those difficult teachings (and other much harder ones) we have to break down our human will, as for red-blooded men, Christian living is just beyond us. To understand how much more willpower is gained through humility!

Muhammad Ali and Tiger Woods understood this within the physical realm of their bodies, and what is spirituality but a clearer reflection of these metaphysical facts?

Good.
RunIndia

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Brendino-

Fantastic, thank you. And just to add to your already wonderfully presented statement, not only does being instruments of God mean that our successes are His successes, but it should also help us to be more understanding of our own and all else’s failures. While we pat our own backs for earning the appreciation and admiration of others, we cut ourselves down the hardest for small errors or flaws in our person. I am not saying that we should remove responsibility for error from ourselves and say that God failed through us. I just mean that as [RunIndia] said, we are all beater trumpets, and should recognize our own natural limitations and not allow them to discourage us. Beautiful music can come from all, but not if you stop practicing because you feel broken.

Megan