So last night Dr. Ball and Dr. Anderson had their annual piano recital. (I'm assuming it's annual because they had one around the same time last year...that's all I'm going off of, though.) It was absolutely spectacular! They are both magnificent players (and wonderful people)! It was highly entertaining and rather educational (more-so than most recitals I've been to). They played some classic piano literature, some hymn arrangements that they wrote themselves (they were amazing!), and a final piece that was variations on Yankee Doodle in the style of different composers (Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and Gershwin) that was a whole lot of fun.
Both Dr. Anderson and Dr. Ball are amazing musicians but what really gives them an edge is that you can tell that they are fully aware that their talent is a gift from God and they use that talent to glorify God. There is just something about the way they perform that always points to God. I'm sure it starts with the attitude of their heart and that shows through with everything they do. It's as if nothing else matters except giving God the glory. That's the way it should be, right? I think as performers, a lot of times we get so wrapped up in the details of our performance that we ultimately forget why we are doing it in the first place. We get so worried about "Is it good enough for the audience?", "What will so-and-so think?", "does it meet the requirements for (insert recital here)?", "I hope I don't mess up this part I've been having trouble with", etc. We should be concerned with "Is it my best for the one who gifted me with this talent?" We should be playing for God. I've heard it said that we should play for God and if some other people just so happen to hear it then so be it. We should always be concerned with giving the glory to God. That is our top priority. Audience, teachers, judges, etc. are not as important as playing our best for our creator.
I've been thinking about this all night last night and all day today. This morning I was reading in first Corinthians and I stumbled across a verse I've always liked. I think, as of this morning, it has become my new favorite. "So, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do
all to the glory of God." - 1Corinthians 10:31 I thought it was neat that I came across that this morning. I've been thinking a lot about the "whatever-you-dos" (Dr. Quanstrom preached about this at a Chapel last year. It was a wonderful sermon) today. Whatever-you-dos include everything we do. Sitting in class, practicing, brushing our teeth, doing the dishes, etc. Everything we do should give glory to God. And why not? He deserves that and so much more...
Just some things I've been chewing on...figured I'd share. Hope you all are having a wonderful day. Try to make a conscious decision to give glory to God in the whatever-you-dos.
Comments (1)
those are talented men aren't they??? i love to listen to them play. and your right, everything we do should glorify God, that's really the sole reason we're here, to point to him, and to give him glory in everything. hope your year is going well, thinking of you!