Staying on key

"How shall we sing?"

Psalm 137:4

I love to sing.  It's hereditary.  My parents both love music and I'm pretty sure they both have excellent voices.

I say "pretty sure" because I haven't heard my father sing very much.  He has three daughters, so any time we were all singing, he was the only baritone.  I think he felt outnumbered, so he didn't sing very loudly. 

And we did sing.  We sang in the car, we sang at church, we went Christmas caroling many times.  My parents took us to see musicals onstage, and then my sisters and I would sing the songs we had learned.   We're living in three different states now, so we rarely get to sing together anymore, but we all still sing. 

I sing in my car, and occasionally around the house, but most of the singing I do is worship songs at church and Bible study.  But a few weeks ago, I realized I was having to work a little harder when I sang.  I was having trouble staying on key.  And the reason was because a woman near me was off-key.  And loudly so.  

Now, these were worship songs, so I'm of the opinion that she should sing as loud as she wants.  It's praise, after all.  But I had to really focus to keep myself singing the right notes, even to songs I had sung many times before.  I had to really hear my voice and pay attention, otherwise I'd be off-key, too. 

There are other people in my life who off-key, too, and not in a musical way.  There are people around me who are doing, or saying, or being, things that I am not supposed to.  Maybe it's just that God has called them to something different, but often it's something that they aren't supposed to be doing, either.  And when someone around us is straying, you and I have to work harder to stay on key. 

When someone in your life is disobedient ~ remain obedient.

When someone in your life is discouraged ~ remain hopeful.

When someone in your life is faithless ~ remain faithful.

When someone in your life is judging ~ do not judge.

Gossiping, cheating, lying, coveting ~ it's going on all around us.  

Stay on key. 

~ "Blessed is the man who endures temptation;

for when he has been approved,

he will receive the crown of life

which the Lord promised to those who love Him" ~

James 1:12