Here's looking at you, kid

Dustin got a bass pre-amp from his family for Christmas. He loves it! You can run your music through it and listen and play along, all while wearing headphones, so you don't have to disturb anyone. If you're like me, it's so you can play and mess up and, for the most part, those around you don't know how bad it really sounds. Of course being the giving person he is, he let me use it. It's a great way to learn and try to figure out all those cool licks and runs you hear the pros do. I was trying to think of which song I wanted to run through and finally settled on an old Gold City song called, "God's Building A Church." Those of you that are Southern Gospel fans may remember they had a band at the time that was kickin'. I believe Tim Parton was on keys, of course Doug Riley on drums (miss him!), and Adam Borden on bass. As I sat there and played along and watched the video of a live concert they did it reminded me just how much I LOVED this music. When the band would start to really feel it and get into what they were doing it's like my adrenaline just went through the roof. I giggled like a school girl watching it and feeling that live band excitement. I remember getting to talk with Adam Borden when I was a teenager and trying to learn (STILL am) and he was so kind. He took time to talk with me like I actually knew what I was talking about - Which was kind of a long shot. But he's one of the ones that made me want to be a bass player and the cool kind that meshed with the rest of the band like Nutella and strawberries. Okay, weird analogy I know but have you ever tried Nutella and strawberries? I mean, c'mon. But, I said all that to say this, he probably has no idea that he helped shape the musician (I'm not really worthy to be called that but lol) I am today. I didn't know him very well. Still don't. But, I watched him carry himself with dignity on stage, he was kind to me as a young musician trying to learn, and I enjoyed listening to him play.

So after that biography I just wrote, here's my point. Be kind. You never know who's watching. You never know what impact you might have on their life. You never know who's looking at you. It might be someone you don't know. It might be someone you know extremely well, yet because you're so comfortable around them, you don't even realize they're taking note of who you are. In Psalm 101:2 David says, "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." Even in his own house David declared that he would walk blameless, with integrity, with a perfect heart. Most of the time if anyone's gonna see your worst side, it's the people you know the best. We feel comfortable with them. We feel like we don't have to be something we're not. That's why we need to make sure that what we truly ARE is holy, blameless and perfect before the Lord. That's difficult. I'm preaching to myself here, too. It's easy to get mad and tell your mom, your husband or your best friend, fly off about something and spew out gossip when someone offends you. It's easy to watch shows that are funny even when we hear profanity and inappropriateness when we're sitting in our own living room and no one can see us. But, what you maintain when no one can see you will manifest itself in public view. Like I said, preaching to myself here, too. But, let's go beyond that. The person you meet at the store, the teenager you go to church with, the kid you watch after school sometimes. Looking back, years from now, or even tomorrow, chances are something you say or do will make a difference in their life for the better, or for the worse. They're looking at you, kid. May we never bring down someone's standard of Godliness by the life they see us live. Yes, I know we are to compare our lives to Jesus and Him alone. But, the simple fact is, a lot of people only know the standard of holiness that WE live in front of them because they don't know the Lord or they aren't searching it out for themselves. Lord, help us. Lord, help me - to have a heart that's holy, motives that are pure, an attitude that reflects Who You are and words that bring encouragement to the hearer.

Okay, now go watch a live (Christian) band and practice an instrument :)

#SouthernGospelMusic #Jesus #Liveband #bass #bassplayer #music #holiness