Transcript included below…
A few years ago, I helped a friend with a house project that involved taking a fair amount of junk to the dump.
As we pulled up to get rid of the stuff we brought, a man pulled up in a large pickup truck next to us. I did a double take as I realized that the bed of his pickup was chock-full of huge trophies. There must have been at least three dozen of them piled high in the back of his pickup, and these trophies were between two and three feet tall.
I couldn’t resist asking him why he was throwing all those trophies away.
“Excuse me,” I said. “Can I ask what all those trophies are for, and why you’re throwing them all away?”
“Oh,” he said, with a mixture of disappointment and relief in his voice, “these are motocross trophies I’ve won in races over the years, but they really don’t mean much to me now. I wanted to make space at my house for some other things, so these needed to go.”
His words definitely gave me pause. Those trophies represented a significant time commitment, and a level of achievement in a field that can be pretty competitive. And yet, with the passage of time, from his perspective, those trophies didn’t mean much anymore.
I’m sure this guy will have plenty of motocross stories to tell his kids and grandkids, but the time he spent practicing as he rode his dirt bike, to say nothing of the cost of equipment and fuel, was no longer to be memorialized in these awards; they were disappearing quickly into the trash heap.
I’m sad to report that some guitar players have a similar story. They may not take their guitars to the dump, but the reality is that their music and talents get set aside indefinitely.
I’ve met people for whom music was once a major focus, or at least a serious hobby, but they have fallen away from the ardent pursuit of their musical dreams. Their instruments have either been stashed away in an attic, or sold, or donated. For some, music is no longer a priority. It has tragically faded away in the busyness of life.
Of course, there are always different seasons, but as guitarists seeking the Lord’s will, my hope is that Christ-honoring music might be something that could last most of our lifetimes. For some, the music that could be does not come to be, as the years slip by.
What about you and me? What about the music we’re playing, or long to play? Will our work be temporary and give way to other things? Or, will the structures we’re building endure the test of time, or even last beyond our lifetimes?
The guitar structures we can build will only last if we are purposeful, intentional, and eternally-minded.
I believe that if we submit our work to the Lord and invite Him to guide our steps, He will give us purpose and opportunities to play our guitars in a seriously fun way that can transcend our lifetimes. For musicians who play the guitar, this is legacy defined.
Let’s look at three hypothetical scenarios.
First, perhaps we find ourselves playing songs in a worship setting, inviting people to engage with the Lord of the universe as we declare His praises. Is this something eternally significant? Absolutely.
Second, what if we write songs on the guitar that carry a message of hope, that challenges people to a deeper walk with Christ? Will these structures last? I really think so.
Lastly, what if we are a part of a paradigm where important guitar knowledge is passed along? This is knowledge that has been developed over time, to help equip other guitar players to overcome hurdles and challenges on their way to their definition of success.
That, in fact, is one of the main purposes I now find myself leaning into, full-tilt, as I equip beginning and intermediate Christian guitarists to discover their potential. This is an excellent example of Kingdom-minded guitar structures that can be built for His glory.
Did you catch that? The glory of these lasting structures belongs to the Lord, not us. We carry the legacy, we are entrusted with being music-makers, but the Great Composer is the one who receives the glory for anything that comes from our efforts.
Some of the things we will enjoy in life will be very temporary: random experiences might include a meal, a movie, or a camping trip (where I was actually inspired to string these very words together.) And these experiences may provide wonderful memories we can hold onto for quite a while.
But for structures to last, they need to be fortified with a greater sense of purpose as we look beyond ourselves to the lives of others, including those who have not yet been born. I don’t believe that we can make a positive spiritual impact on someone’s life with eternal significance by accident. We have to lean into it with great intention.
I remember performing a concert of my original music at a camp once where I played the guitar and sang my heart out for Jesus. I later received a note in the mail from a camper who had been at that concert that included the sentence, “You make me want to be a better Christian.”
Well, I can’t take credit for that spiritual impact on this young person’s life, but I can say that it took place while I was obediently embarking on building lasting structures for the Kingdom of God. My prayer is that that young person is now living a life to the fullest for Christ.
I was deeply encouraged to receive that note in the mail, but my part was to step forward and lean into something that I knew would have a lasting value. So, I did.
What about you and your guitar? Have you taken stock of your short or long-term goals for how you want to use the time that remains? Are you playing seriously fun music with an eternally-significant message or tone, and will others hear it and be spiritually impacted by it?
Remember, you don’t have to record a professional album to reach others in a meaningful way; you could just bring your guitar to an informal gathering and play a handful of songs in someone’s living room or backyard and still make an impact.
When our lives on this earth wind down (and they will,) what will we look back on that we have invested in with our musical gifts and talents? Will we see structures we’ve put in place that have equipped, inspired, and impacted others for the glory of God? I pray that it will be so.
Thanks for taking the opportunity to pause and think about how our guitar playing can have an eternal impact on the lives of others. It’s not something that happens by accident; we need to lean into it with purpose and dedication, and then to let the Lord do His mighty work with our humble offerings, for His glory.
So please, keep showing up, keep playing your guitar for the glory of God.
And if you can think of someone in your life who might appreciate the message of today’s episode, please share it with them.
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