Strike up the band....

Ever been to a junior high orchestra concert? Painful things. Eager kids trying to show off their new found “skills”, shy ones going through the motions but too scared to sound a single note. And if the director is inexperienced or not careful, if can get out of hand pretty quickly.  

It is a similar situation that we find Paul addressing in our text this week. People were blowing their horns about one use of certain gifts and others were clanging their cymbals about something else. Those with something truly useful to add didn’t even try. To Paul it all sounded like a train wreck, a band severely out of tune.  So he steps in as a conductor, taps his baton on the podium and tries to bring it back into order. 

Just like instruments in an orchestra, spiritual gifts have a range in which to play and only make up part of a much larger whole. They are most beautiful and beneficial when used in submission to the music and the conductor, not constantly ‘seeking a solo’ or never played at all out of fear of messing up. This week we are going to focus on just what that overall symphony is, and how to get everyone on the same page or music, rather than just one or two instruments.