About three years ago, I went for a surprise visit to my friend Tommy’s in Oklahoma (the guy whose wedding I just got back from). That weekend wasn’t the easiest to visit because one of Tommy’s friends was getting married. To make matters worse, I didn’t know anyone else at the wedding, bride and groom included, and I hadn’t RSVPed. But I didn’t really have anything else going on, so Tommy easily talked me into crashing it. It was a beautiful wedding, I talked to the mother of the bride for about 30 minutes, and just entertained myself as Tommy did his thing. Flash forward to present day as I’m standing in the elevator with the groom as we both finally figured out where we knew each other. This shouldn’t be awkward.
Trent has now been married for about three years, and things are going well for him and his wife. His wife was actually the maid of honor in Tommy’s wedding, and Trent was the musician for the ceremony. He did an excellent job, and everyone seemed pretty impressed with his musical talent. After the wedding, he and I were tasked with delivering the luggage and preparing the room for post-reception when Tommy and Arian would head to the hotel for… well they’re married, I’ll just leave it at that.
As a guy that’s been married for three years, I understood why Trent would be an obvious choice, but I think the only reason I was chosen was because I was the first face Tommy saw. Trent showed up with the flowers and candles, and I just kind of showed up. I followed his lead and before long, we stepped back, and I think we did a fairly good job for two guys. However, while we were setting up, Trent and I were able to go a little deeper. I had to ask him if he ever thought about recording his music, but I wasn’t really expecting his answer. He told me how he felt God had wired him with the creativity to lead worship, and not necessarily record albums. Even though he definitely has the talent to put something on CD, he knows that that’s not something God has wired him to do.
A lot of times when I talk with twenty-somethings and below, a lot of their decisions are driven by the motto, “If I could, I should.” I don’t think this is always the wisest way to make decisions. Sure, God uses circumstances to lead us in some directions, but just because things fall into our lap, doesn’t always make them the best for us. Trent has the ability and talent to record, but he has the passion to lead worship and create the environment for people to meet God. Anything else would be a lover less wild to chase after. Just because he has the talent, doesn’t mean that the music industry is what he should pursue. God has a much higher calling for his gift.
Sometimes God gives us things as a means for provision, but he gives us everything to bring glory to him. For Trent, this means using his talents to bring quality music, and more importantly worship, to his church body. After all, God does deserve the best. Giving Him what we have left over will never be enough. We need to offer up the first fruits in this area, and that doesn’t make a ton of sense apart from Jesus. It’s one of the hardest things to do, but I’m beginning to be ok with it.
