We live in a productive, efficient-driven country. How can businesses increase productivity rates? How can we get the most bang for our buck?If you have ever been in an economics class, you know that creating the most amount of product in the fastest and cheapest way is the best way to make the most amount of profit, which of course is what we all strive for, right?
Even the education system emphasizes the product. By making a student's tests the primary portion of their final grade, the student has 2-10 chances during the class to prove themselves worthy of passing due to their knowledge of the material. Even though we may joke about it, no one really gets an "A for Effort".
Being a performer, I see nothing but a total reliance upon the product or performance for our merit as artists. The only reason we practice and rehearse is to have a good performance. The only reason we do our daily work is because we know the test is coming, and our reputation depends upon it.
What if we lived all of life that way? Some people do. For some people they have absolutely no motivation to exercise unless they have a public goal or performance they are working towards, while for others it is not necessary to act spiritual unless they are at church. Some of my examples you may consider to be extremes, but we have all dealt with this is one way or another. And I'm not saying that this is how we behave all the time, but nevertheless the temptation is still there because of our own sin and the world that we live in.
But, recently, I have discovered that the product is not the most important thing. My voice teacher is the one that has instilled in me the saying, "process is more important than product". While I knew that was in some ways true, I didn't really understand what it meant to live that way. I saw it in relation to the gospel; that we are not saved by our works. Of course that makes sense intellectually, but what does it look like?
A quote from Jim Elliot has been running through my mind lately: "Wherever you are, be all there!" and it continues, "Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." Too often have I been found guilty of focusing more on the outcome of something or how it affects me rather than what is actually happening. I am by nature a very analytic person, and so if I do not willfully stop myself, I will take a break every few minutes from what I am doing to assess how I am doing and if it is being done right. Often times if I go too long without my constant analysis, I freak out because I don't know whether I am living my life correctly or not. But the truth is, I am not really letting myself live at all when I analyze so often.
This is definitely not a good thing to do whilst singing. To sing correctly, your mind and body have to be fully committed all the way through with the process of singing. You can't go back mentally, or your body will shut down. If you sing something incorrectly, you can't go back and upbraid yourself for your mistakes, or you will lose your focus and the song will just go downhill from there. For the most part, I believe you have to mostly shut your brain down (especially if you're someone like me) in order to sing properly and without hindrance. Wherever you are, be all there.
The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, is that it really doesn't matter how well you are doing something, but rather the fact that you are doing it. Who do you think God is more pleased with - someone who ruins their life trying to be the best musician possible and have a perfect performance, or the musician who simply lives day by day playing for the Lord because he gave them their gift? Tests and performances don't always come every day, but we are called every day to use the time and talents we have to glorify our Maker. He is more interested in the process than the product. He is more interested in you trusting Him daily for your strength than achieving spiritual greatness. He is more interested in the journey than the destination.
If you live in the light of this truth, I promise you won't be disappointed. You will grow and learn so much more when you realize that every moment of every day is ordained by God and is for your good and His glory.
I have a short story to close. Last weekend I ran a 5k in 26 degree weather. I did not feel as in shape as I was for the last 5k I ran, which was back in October. I honestly was not expecting good results for this race, especially in relation to my performance over the last couple months. So I decided I wasn't going to try to run super fast, I just wanted to finish well. I wanted to enjoy the frigid weather, the beautiful outdoors, and using my body to glorify God. I wanted to present in the process and not be always looking towards the outcome - the finish line. Most of the time when I run races I am constantly looking at my watch to make sure that I am running the pace that I want to be at, but this time I didn't. I looked ahead and I looked around. I basked in the beauty of God's creation. I prayed for the runners around me. I wasn't focused on myself and how I was doing; I was focused on God and what He was working in me and through me right then and there. And you know what? My time was almost 2 minutes faster than my 5k back in October.
When we focus on the process rather than the product, we will be rewarded. But the truth is, we won't really care anyway. That 5k last week was the best race I've ever run, but not because of my time. I enjoyed close communion with God that I hadn't been getting in a while. I felt His pleasure as I ran, not because I was running fast, but because I was running for Him. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus..." We are to lay aside every thing that may weigh us down, and we are to look to Jesus, and to Jesus alone. Not looking at ourselves, not looking at others to see how we compare, but looking solely and always at Jesus. We should not live for the grades or the ranking or the success, but we should seek to live faithful lives that trust Jesus for our strength and righteous standing before the Father that we might bring His name glory in all that we say and do in every moment of every day. Be all there.
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