Never Getting Tired
(an illustration)
October 10th, 2007. Toad’s Place. Richmond, Virginia.
My brother is a musician. We all are, really, but especially Ross. Ross took my sister and me to a concert a few months back. There were several bands performing that night, but we came to see the “headliner”: a band that has been around for ten + years, whom we all three enjoy. Rebekah and I especially used to listen to them a lot, but we had never seen them in concert.
Now, to narrow the focus a bit.
The band’s first “hit” song was very, very, popular in the mid-to-late 90’s. People listened to it so much that they eventually got sick of it (as is often the case!). But the point is: fans of the band have it memorized. I mean, they have ten years’ worth of memorization. And not just words. “Oh”s, inflections, and minute rhythms. And, of course, the band knows that everyone will sing along to this song- even the most casual of fans. They even have a whole chorus dedicated to letting the audience sing it. When we were at the concert, of course all of this happened. And the lead singer sang the song exactly the way he had sung it ten years before.
Sometime over the course of the evening I referenced the song to my brother.
“Wouldn’t you get tired of singing that song, every night for ten years, the exact same way?”
And Ross’ eyes gleamed. He shook his head, grinning. “No.”
That’s all he said. But I knew and understood every detail of what he meant. As a musician, that’s your purpose. Your goal. Your passion, your drive, what you work for.
We as Christians, in theory, should be that unfailing. I wish I could say I’ve never thought: Come on, I’ve already read the Bible straight through…I can’t learn anything new from the book of Matthew, for crying out loud. But God…and the Gospel, are such that we should never lose our excitement over them! Living by the same “rules” every day is not rote and boring.
Like singing a song, I should live my life as a testament to others: by being consistent. But more than that. Being joyfully consistent. Peacefully, excitedly, consistent. Because every day is brand new. Every circumstance is fresh, though we strive live each day with the same standards.
Every choice is different – just as every attitude should be single-veined: to give glory to God. Every crowd is different, but when every pair of lips sings those long memorized words….the room vibrates, just as the world around us vibrates a little differently when we live, breath, and sing for Him alone, no matter what we’re doing.
Filed under: Christian Living, Joy in Christ
Thank you for reminding me to remain passionate and consistent. I like this blog.
That’s really cool to think about. I have often wondered how bands can sing the same song that is overplayed on the radio night after night after night. This definitely puts it in perspective and I LOVE how it relates to our lives as Christians, as well. :]
-Bee-