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Service

"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'"¹

"Sir Michael Costa, the celebrated conductor, was holding a rehearsal. As the mighty chorus rang out, accompanied by scores of instruments, the piccolo player—a tiny pint-sized flute—thinking perhaps that his contribution would not be missed amid so much music, stopped playing. Suddenly, the great leader stopped and cried out, 'Where's the piccolo?'

"The sound of that one small instrument was necessary to the harmony, and the Master Conductor missed it when it dropped out. The point? To the Conductor there are no insignificant instruments in an orchestra. Sometimes the smallest and seemingly least important one can make the greatest contribution and even if it doesn't seem to make that big a difference to the audience at large, the conductor knows it right away!

"In the church, in life and in God's work on earth the players and the instruments are diverse—different sizes, different shapes, different notes, different roles to play. But like the piccolo player in Sir Michael's orchestra, we often in our own sovereignty decide that our contribution is not significant. Our contribution couldn't possibly make a difference. And so we quit playing. Stop doing that which we've been given to do. We drop out. But the Conductor immediately notices.”²

From our perspective your and my contribution may be small, but from God's viewpoint it is critical. So, whatever you do, don't bury your piccolo (talent) but put it to use in service for the Lord remembering that we serve God by serving people and doing it in Jesus's name.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You for the gift/s You have given to me and for the part You have given me to play as You orchestrate Your plan for the world in which I live. Help me to play my part diligently, faithfully, and to the best of my ability always for Your glory and the benefit of others. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Matthew 25:24-25 (NIV).
2. Adapted from Richard Love, Sermon: "Blowing Your Horn," Memphis: Sermon Illustrations, 1999. Cited on www.eSermons.com.

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