I don't know if you have ever been to hear a symphony orchestra play, or a concert pianist. You may have had the experience of closing your eyes and being swept away by the music, like the ocean washing over you.
I used to play the violin, and practise for hours and hours perfecting every note, and getting carried away in the melody. This last week, I've begun to play again. Although I can still play, I've noticed that my technique and tone are not what they were. I hope all those thousands of dollars in lessons and hours and hours of practise haven't been wasted while my beautiful antique violin has been sitting under my bed collecting dust for the last few years.
You see the value of the violin is not in its price, but it is in its playing.
When I play, I feel alive, connected, inspired. When I'm not playing - the violin is simply something pretty collecting dust.
Our lives too are of so much more value than an income, a paycheck, a skill or an ability that can be given. Your life can't be measured in monetary value, and neither can anyone else's.
You are worth far more than that.
There is a beautiful exchange in playing a beautiful piece of music that others can hear and experience. When you pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket, what do you get to take home? Nothing? Maybe.
For me, what I receive from the experience of listening to an orchestra play is sometimes immeasurable - the connection my soul feels, healing for my heart, experiencing the wonder of something magical.
I have given money for their skill, but they have given me something so much greater, and together we have experienced the beauty of music together.
Is life not more than food and clothing?
If we reduce our giving to simply meeting others simple and basic needs, then we have missed the point.
If I don't give something of myself, my love, my beauty, my voice, my song, then have I given anything at all?
There is something in you that is of so much value - its worth more than the money you can give. Its something that will inspire others, its something that will heal others, its something powerful, and it will make you feel alive and connected and healed when you give it.
Maybe you have a gift that you haven't been using lately, or maybe you haven't really believed in yourself. But God has given you something special and unique to share with others.
What is it?
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