Q: In conversation with you, a keen and influential CU member starts whinging about certain music students in the CU who, as he puts it, “spend more time playing their instruments and doing community music projects, rather than getting on with the real work of evangelism.” He finishes by saying, “and in the end, all their instruments will melt in the heat of the day of judgment, so they’re just wasting their time, aren’t they?” How do you respond?
My Answer:
Evangelism, as you point out, is important work delegated to Christians. You are also right to prioritize eternal things, such as saving souls through evangelism. However, you claim to see playing your instrument or participating in community music projects as activities that conflict with time given to evangelism, whereas evangelism can flourish in friendship circles of common interests, such as music. You also claim evangelism to be the ‘real work’ of Christians, leaving music playingand projectsto be ‘not real’ Christian work. You go as far to say that anything that will eventually ‘melt away’, such as earthly musical instruments, are ultimately a waste of time. If that were true, then what God calls originally ‘good’ - food, drink, plants, animals, rest would also have to be not deserving of our time. I would argue that evangelism and community music projects need not be separate activities requiring equal time for each. Even if you are not able to see them as mergeable activities, I would encourage you to not see them in competition with each other for your time - with more time spent on evangelism being the measure for successful Christian work. Though there is wisdom in investing into things that stand the test of time, we must not stray into Gnostic territory by withdrawing or detaching ourselves from the physical world; when God has clearly given a Law to Christians under which they can live freely, healthily and abundantly with physical things (1 Colossians 2:21-23) enjoying their time on earth with Him, serving Him through their talents, as well as calling non-Christians to a life with Him.
As mentioned before, evangelism is an extremely important part and privilege of a Christian’s life. This is established all throughout Jesus’ ministry. At the start, as shown in His desire to make Simon Peter and his brother Andrew into ‘fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19), and later on, where Jesus encouraged His disciples to pray for workers who would reap the ‘harvest’ of ‘sheep’ without shepherds, by doing as He did in ‘proclaiming the good news of the kingdom’(Matthew 9:38, Luke 10:2) – in other words, evangelising. Apart from evangelism, there is Godly wisdom in spending time to play, create, and enjoy God through His creation. We know that our God is a creative God. He brought all things into being which were created for His sake (Romans 11:36), to declare His glory (Psalm 19:1) which will continue to the end of this age (Revelation 5:13). Christ not only created for His sake, but for us, to communicate something of His ‘eternal power and divine nature’ to us (Romans 1:20). The sheer variation present in the multitude of fish and flowers speak also of His beauty and creativity. Enjoying these qualities of His may seem pointless to Christians who don’t place importance on enjoying God.
It was also right of you to point out that Christians should be concerned with what God classifies as eternal, since Jesus taught the crowds during His Sermon on the Mount, to store up ‘treasures in heaven’; as opposed to ‘treasures on earth’ that are destroyed and stolen. Although it is true that earthly instruments and man-made inventions will waste away, this does not make their utilization antonymous to being ‘real work’ in God’s eyes. Musical instruments throughout the Bible are played alongside worship, rejoicing (Jeremiah 31:4) prophecy (1 Samuel 10:5), the transportation of the ark of God (1 Chronicles 15:16) and was a task appointed to skilful individuals at the time (1 Chronicles 15:22). Instrumental music seems to continue even into heaven (Revelation 5:8).
This brings me to my next point. Though your physical musical instruments will perish, the actual act of playing instruments will not. It seems to be a recurring medium used for worship throughout God’s relationship with mankind, as especially recorded in the Psalms. Playing your instrument skilfully for your Church is a way of serving and having fellowship with the already existing Church.
In conclusion, laying your instrument, like painting a picture, speaks something of the creative nature of God, and His image in you. Bettering your musical skills to better serve the community or Church with them is necessary for the upbuilding of God’s people, including yourself. Just as Paul claims having love is more important than speaking in tongues, prophesying, or having faith that moves mountains; so enjoying God can definitely be seen important beside evangelizing, because calling people to become converts but not demonstrating to them the rest and joy we have in being Jesus’ disciples throughout our life’s tasks is a disservice to new Christians and old. The motivation behind the works being more important than themselves do not however disqualify these works of prophesy, tongues-speaking, faith in action or evangelism as ‘real works’. Yet the point remains, that not only should we strive to produce fruit that lead to a harvest of bringing others to know Christ but Christians should also remain rooted and drinking from the fountain that He is - so our evangelism and other works sprout out of not an obligation but a love and excitement for Him.
written on: 18th October 2019
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