I just read a true story about an incident at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) Centennial celebration in 1991. Three former conductors were invited to help the current conductor direct four great works of music, and a $500 a plate pre-concert dinner was held to raise funds and to honor all four conductors. Gifts of appreciation were customary, so each of the donors were handed their gift as they moved from the dinner into the concert hall. Inside this wrapped package was a specially inscribed desk alarm clock.
The concert began with a piece from Wagner and was beautiful. Then the next conductor began Beethoven’s Symphony #5, during which people began to hear an occasional beeping noise. Quite a number of people, including the conductor, were rather irritated at whomever was allowing their beeper to go off during a concert. After the intermission, Maestro Solti came out and began conducting Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto #1. The intermittent beeping from the earlier piece now grew into a more frequent sounding off of beeps irregularly placed throughout the audience. Maestro Solti was struggling and doing everything in his power to keep the orchestra together.
In the meantime, the Executive Director of the CSO and a staff member were racking their brains to figure out what all that beeping was about, and suddenly concluded that it was those 400 alarm clocks which were all set at random times and alarm settings, many of which obviously had the alarm function set to “on”. The Executive Director went to the stage entrance, ready to run out and make an announcement about this, and was waiting for a pause in the music. But when the pause came, Solti stopped and turned to ask people to turn off their beepers. Of course no one knew the real reason for the noise until the Executive Director burst onto the stage to clear everything up. His announcement, that the donors each held a randomly set alarm clock hidden in their package, was followed by laughter, and then by an orderly procession of all the packages into the outside lobby. The final piece by Dvorak was performed beautifully… and peacefully.
Even things that are good in our lives can be distracting. The alarm clock was not an evil gift. It was selected, engraved and wrapped up with care and given to show respect and thankfulness. Its purpose was to sit on the donor's desk to remind the them of timely matters (hence the alarm) and that they were appreciated by the CSO. But, this gift became a distraction to everyone there.
What distracts you from your walk of faith? How often do you let distractions get in your way and interrupt the list of priorities you try to set for yourself? In the Christian walk of faith, we easily say that God comes first in our lives, but we often justify our reasons for putting other things in front of God. Worship, Bible study, and prayer are all about God (who we claim comes first), but how often do we allow the distractions of the world to come in and stop us from fully participating in these things? How often do we let the intermittent beeps of the world fill up our lives and become our focus, instead of the beautiful music that our Great Conductor calls the symphony of His children to play? How do you stay in tune with Him?
The concert began with a piece from Wagner and was beautiful. Then the next conductor began Beethoven’s Symphony #5, during which people began to hear an occasional beeping noise. Quite a number of people, including the conductor, were rather irritated at whomever was allowing their beeper to go off during a concert. After the intermission, Maestro Solti came out and began conducting Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto #1. The intermittent beeping from the earlier piece now grew into a more frequent sounding off of beeps irregularly placed throughout the audience. Maestro Solti was struggling and doing everything in his power to keep the orchestra together.
In the meantime, the Executive Director of the CSO and a staff member were racking their brains to figure out what all that beeping was about, and suddenly concluded that it was those 400 alarm clocks which were all set at random times and alarm settings, many of which obviously had the alarm function set to “on”. The Executive Director went to the stage entrance, ready to run out and make an announcement about this, and was waiting for a pause in the music. But when the pause came, Solti stopped and turned to ask people to turn off their beepers. Of course no one knew the real reason for the noise until the Executive Director burst onto the stage to clear everything up. His announcement, that the donors each held a randomly set alarm clock hidden in their package, was followed by laughter, and then by an orderly procession of all the packages into the outside lobby. The final piece by Dvorak was performed beautifully… and peacefully.
Even things that are good in our lives can be distracting. The alarm clock was not an evil gift. It was selected, engraved and wrapped up with care and given to show respect and thankfulness. Its purpose was to sit on the donor's desk to remind the them of timely matters (hence the alarm) and that they were appreciated by the CSO. But, this gift became a distraction to everyone there.
What distracts you from your walk of faith? How often do you let distractions get in your way and interrupt the list of priorities you try to set for yourself? In the Christian walk of faith, we easily say that God comes first in our lives, but we often justify our reasons for putting other things in front of God. Worship, Bible study, and prayer are all about God (who we claim comes first), but how often do we allow the distractions of the world to come in and stop us from fully participating in these things? How often do we let the intermittent beeps of the world fill up our lives and become our focus, instead of the beautiful music that our Great Conductor calls the symphony of His children to play? How do you stay in tune with Him?
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