| Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. |
| —Matthew 11:28 |
I played the French horn in college, but the price of a French horn prevented me from having my own instrument. Therefore, in order to play in the orchestra and wind ensembles, I needed to use a school-owned horn. So, my professor assigned me one which played well, though it sported enough dents to reveal that it had been around for a few years.
At my first lesson, the professor said:
“Did you know you could wash this thing in the bathtub?”
He proceeded to tell me how to take it all apart and run water through it in order to get rid of the putrid smell coming from within the French horn. So, I followed his advice, and took it back to my dorm for a serious and thorough “bath.”
Now, the French horn isn’t the only instrument that needs special care. I learned, as a music teacher in the public schools, that oboe reeds crack, dry trumpet valves stick, mouthpieces get stuck in trombones, and flute keypads fall out. All need attention from time to time.
What would happen to the music from these instruments if the players did not maintain them? The music would indeed suffer. A stuck key, or a squealing reed, would obviously influence the sound and the ability of the player to do his or her best job in producing music.
Christians tend to have the same problems as well-used musical instruments. We have a “song to sing,” so to speak, and need to have our spiritual “instruments” in tip-top shape, in order for the “music” to come out. When we live with our bodies tired, or malnourished, or out of shape, we cannot give to God our very best.
However, I know that our schedules often become unbalanced, because other’s expectations of us box us into a corner, or family demands make us feel obligated to sacrifice even healthy patterns of living in order to meet those demands. This lack of balance keeps our bodies ill-maintained and unable to do our best for God, for our families, or for our employers.
During the time of creation, God even rested on the seventh day! He was showing us His pattern for living. You all know the third Commandment found in the first half of Exodus 34:21:
Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest.
But do you remember the rest of it from the second half of Exodus 34:21?
Even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.
Said another way: “We must rest, even when we are the busiest!”
In our society, we tend either to make too much of our bodies, or too little. A balanced approach to living requires us to maintain good habits for healthy bodies, but to also make time for our spiritual selves as well. That is the other side of the coin.
Where do we see ourselves? Too occupied with our physical needs, or careless and dangerously forgetful of them? We must take a good look, and commit ourselves to the balance required for healthy bodies that can readily serve God when He calls. Like my efforts to care for the French Horn, we must learn to take proper care of ourselves, in order that, with our whole beings, we will remain able to play beautiful music for God.
