Play Your Part

 July 30, 2024

A bit of a detour tonight. 

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

 —Ephesians 4:3

“then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” —Philippians 2:2-4 

I often hear pastors speak eloquently on the necessity of unity in the body of Christ and how if we want the world to believe in Jesus, we must strive for unity. So far, so good. Such talk is often followed up with a plea for everyone to get behind a particular ministry or program as an indication of said unity. My usual reaction to such pleas is guilt, plain and simple. I cannot, and don’t want to attend every function, volunteer for every “unity” event. I confess to frequent compassion overload.

In our pastor’s prayer meeting this morning, as we were reflecting on this passage from Philippians, a fellow pastor mentioned a musical metaphor that cleared things up for me. I play double bass for our church worship team and in a local jazz band. In the Spring and in the Fall, at our first rehearsal, the conductor passes out the sheet music we’ll be rehearsing for the next couple months. My folder contains music in the bass clef and marked “bass.” 

I never see the music for trumpets, trombones, saxes, or percussion. My job is to learn the music, to practice until I know the part almost by heart. If I don’t know my part well, in the concert, I will be concentrating so much on my music that I’m not paying attention to the others, and not keeping my eye on the conductor. I don’t need to know anyone else’s part, but I do need to know mine. If I play my part well, it will blend in with the others in a unity that is beautiful. That is unity. Trying to play anyone else’s part would be uniformity, which would destroy the harmony that is the beauty of the music.

In the Church, each of us has our own “sheet music.” Trying to play someone else’s part means we won’t be playing our own, and it destroys the harmony of the whole. Each of us needs to learn our part, practice it till we know it well; then we can listen to the others so we know how we fit in, and keep our eye on the Conductor who alone sees the whole. If I’m going to feel guilty, it shouldn’t be because I don’t latch onto every good idea fellow Christians have. If I’m going to feel guilty, it should be when I don’t know my part and cannot play it well for the good of the whole. That being said, I want to practice my part so I can play it well, and not feel any guilt at all.