Backup!

 

M

ost people would agree with the idea that the manner in which a person handles adversity speaks volumes about his/her character.  All of us know at least one person who serves as a beacon of inspiration and hope during the trying and difficult times of life. But it is also true that how a person handles praise and notoriety speaks equally loudly about his/her personal integrity. 

 

I was reminded of this several weeks ago Like most people, as soon as I get behind the wheel of my car I reach for the radio controls, tuning in my favorite station, setting the volume just below “eardrum-shattering level” (those of you with teenagers are all too familiar with this setting) and drive to work. On this particular day, however, instead of listening to the radio, I popped in a CD I hadn’t listened to in quite a while. 

 

The singer is very famous and has produced untold hits in several genres. As I sang along with the music the lyrics stopped and a beautiful orchestral interlude took over. The music was very light and happy and quite beautiful to the ear. In a few seconds, the lyrics began, and my focus turned to the singer and away from the orchestra. 

 

I listened to the song at least 5 times on my way to work and each time the same thing happened. My focus was more on the singer than on the orchestra and yet the orchestra was an integral part of the song. It occurred to me that the members of the orchestra playing the background music were content to play while the artist basked in the light of fame. After all, no one buys concert tickets or an album to hear the orchestra; they buy them to hear the artist. No one waits in line for hours to see the background singers and the shouts and screams when a concert begin are not for the technicians but are reserved for the singer. 

 

As I thought about this, I began to wonder about my own life and my own walk with the Lord. Am I content to let him shine or do I want to make sure people see me? It seems that in present-day Christianity Christians want to be in the limelight and give Christ second billing. We see this in our churches as one body of believers must have the latest innovation simply because another church down the street has installed it.  We build huge facilities and plaster our churches’ names across billboards. Yet, the name of Jesus Christ and His kingdom are not given their proper place. 

 

We can learn a lesson from John the Baptist who, when his followers approached him with a concern that Jesus was growing in popularity, made the following statement found in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  John, the forerunner of Christ, the Isaiah who was to come, was content to play music in the background. Jesus said that of all men born of woman none was greater than John the Baptist. Now I ask you, if John was content to be in the background, to let Jesus shine, to give him all the glory and the place of honor, where does that leave us? 

 

The music of our lives is constantly playing.  The question we must answer is this, are we out front during the performance or are we playing music in the background? The answer to this question speaks to our understanding of Christ’s place in our lives. Where are we on life’s stage? Are we playing music in the background? Shouldn’t we be?