I used to believe that having a career in music was the most important thing I could devote my life to. I believed that music was one of the few things I was truely good at and that my talent was a gift from God. Therefore it was my responsibility to use my gift. And then COVID hit and my entire industry shut down over night. There were no more gigs, no more shows and the economic impact that stretched far beyond the arts and entertainment industry meant that I also lost more then half my students. 

During this time I stumbled upon Amos 5:23 “Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.” And I gradually started to understand something that I  had known for a while but had been unable to put my finger on. The more I had dedicated my  life to music the less satisfied I had become  with it. No amount of success was enough. Initially I had blamed this on the music itself and the size of my audience. It seemed as though the harder I worked the less successful I became.  But what if the problem was that I was focusing on the wrong thing? Music, in and of itself is not bad. It is actually quite important and contributes a great deal to our society. There are also many Bible passages that celebrate its merit. But it is not and cannot be everything. 

Slowly as I was re-evaluating things I was left with a question: Does God view my music as noise that will be forever silenced when he returns? Or can I start to use it as a tool to reach out to lost and hurting people. 

At the time of writing the global death toll for COVID is 2.54 million and my heart breaks. How many of these people had heard of Jesus? How many knew the truth of the gospel? What if I could have said or done something that resulted in just one of these people going to live with Jesus in heaven after suffering through this absolutely awful virus.

I also remember a friend from uni who was murdered just as we were all suppose to graduate.  She didn’t even know I was Christian and I did not know she was raised Hindu. I only discovered this when I found myself sitting in a Hindu funeral. Perhaps we were both frightened and more concerned with gaining the favourable opinions of our peers then we were with being open, real and honest. But at the end of the day being liked cannot matter more than saving someones soul. The success of our art cannot come at the expense of our belief.  

I am by no means a religious expert. But I am coming to understand that sharing the gospel with people is not about knowing everything and having all the right answers. We preach a gospel of grace but we have to believe that, that grace applies also to us. Grace is the freedom to be okay with making mistakes. And I would rather try and share the gospel with you and make mistakes than have you come to the end of your life never having heard the gospel in a way that you understand.

So, I pray that you find these resources beneficial and I wish you all the best with your journey through life.