Musicians needed in the ecclesias!
Not too many children are opting for music lessons these days. They start out taking piano and then lose interest in favor of other hobbies or sports. This is regrettable because there is always a need for musicians in our ecclesias. If more parents encouraged their kids to study music, we will not have a shortage of musicians as we do now. And if schools promoted music — the right kind — then maybe we would have more kids interested in learning to play the piano, or any instrument that can be beneficial to an ecclesia.
I think too much effort is spent on competitive sports in schools, and some parents are going along with the crowd instead of promoting more music. How will competitive sports be of any longterm benefit to our ecclesias? The children may be physically fit and able to score touchdowns, but it will be of no use if there is no one available to play an organ or piano.
Some parents do the ideal thing by balancing sports and music. Since the kids must have some exercise, they let them participate in sports; but they also involve them in music lessons. Learning music also develops discipline while at the same time the children get recreation in the form of sports. Eventually they can play for the meeting. Maybe having them play music will help stimulate an interest in baptism, creating a double blessing.
Our ecclesias need musicians. As parents we can make sure that an effort is made, privately at home or by tutoring with professional teachers. Only the basics are taught in schools; mastering this art comes with practice, perseverance and patience. Not everyone is musically inclined, and I am not suggesting that all kids take music. But somewhere there is an ecclesia that needs help. How can we sing if there are no talented musicians to guide us?
Let us take a lesson from David, the greatest musician in the Bible, who could play the harp and even dance! How many of his psalms are not yet set to music? Many of them we sing in our meetings.
“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture” (Psa. 100:1-3, NIV).
Once we have learned music, it can never be unlearned or forgotten. What a beautiful talent to have and use as we await our Lord’s return —when we shall sing together with thousands of angels, giving praise and thanks to the One who is omnipotent, omniscient and LORD of all.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One