King Moretone

 March 27, 2023

My beloved bass is broken. Having taken it to the Footsteps youth weekend, on Saturday evening I was carrying it from the dining hall to the chapel when I stumbled. We both went down; I got right up with only a slight bruising to my ego and as I later discovered, to my ribs. My bass didn’t fare so well, the scroll snapped completely off.

After asking about me, people told me how sorry they were about my bass. Well, I am sorry, too. It was a pristine 1938 King Moretone, the second year of production. It has a great booming sound, and to think that I damaged it is a bit disconcerting. It’s not however, the end of the world. My stock reply has been, “It’s just stuff.” It can either be repaired, or I can buy another instrument.

A month or two ago, I probably wouldn’t have had this attitude, but from our small group learning experience on how to hear from God, I’ve learned to hold onto things loosely. It began with God’s word to me about that hunting rifle, the Mini-14 that I had had my eye on. When I read about laying aside the weights that hold us back, I asked God what weight he had in mind. “Mini-14” was all that came to mind. “Anything else, Lord,’ I asked hopefully, but try as I might, nothing else came to mind. The next day he took it further, telling me that even if someone should tell me it’s really OK to have this rifle (technically, that’s true), because God said no, I had better leave it at that. 

It’s pretty small stuff really. It’s not as if God is telling me to live in austerity, but he seems quite interested in breaking any hold that material things have on me. I have to say, I really loved that bass! I was even quite proud of it in a way. But now it’s broken, and surprisingly to me, it doesn’t matter. God hasn’t said I can’t have a bass; in fact, I have a backup instrument. He does seem intent on stripping away any pride I had in it.

It’s really quite freeing to be able to say it’s only stuff. Already I can sense the difference in me when it comes to the things I own. I am glad to have the things I have, but I’m learning to hold them loosely so I can be free to obey the Lord in any matter he chooses. The Bible tells us not to love the world or the things in it. I’m getting there, and it feels good.