Putting Others First

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of ‘putting others first, before ourselves’. We all have certain goals that we want to reach. Whether it is short term or long term, there are certain things we want to achieve throughout our lives. But what would you do if someone else wanted to achieve the same things as you did and actually achieved those things a lot faster than you? Would you be happy for them and encourage them to keep going? Or would wish that you were in their shoes and maybe even be a bit jealous? I think this is one area that we need to be careful of as worship leaders and musicians. There will always be people who are more gifted and more talented than ourselves and when that person is more successful, how we respond will say a lot about our motives.

I recently spoke to a bass player called Abraham Laboriel Sr. who is considered one of the top session bass players in the world. He has played on over 4000 recordings and has played for a variety of artist’s like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Madonna, Keith Green, you name it, he’s probably played on it! During our conversation he told me that when he is asked to play for anything, whether it’s an album or for an artist on tour, he will pray and ask the Lord whether it is right for him to accept that specific invitation. But that is not his only reason for praying, Abraham said that one of the main reasons he would pray was to ask the Lord if there is someone else that should have that opportunity and would benefit more from it than himself. Wow!! Here is one of the top bassist in the world and he is humble enough to ask God if there is someone else who should take the job!

That really challenged me. We need to celebrate those who are given the opportunities and to bless those who God is blessing. If we thought more like that, I think God would bless us in more ways than we could imagine.