Raise your hand if you were a band kid, or maybe you love one? While I only played the flute for one year in 5^th grade, my parents met at a band camp, I married a man who got a college scholarship for band, and I am raising a very passionate band nerd. I asked my band kid this morning which section tends to be the prideful one in the band: “The trumpets,” he answered, a little too quickly. (My apologies to the trumpets, you are getting thrown under the bus for the sake of this illustration! Maybe you trumpet players would say trombones!)

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Reportedly, the trumpets seem prideful when they play too screechy and don’t blend well with everyone else as they play the melody. Often, they outnumber the other brass instruments, and therefore think they are hot stuff.  It is possible the trumpet players overestimate their importance and are sometime conceited, which means they have an excessively favorable opinion of their own abilities.

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Now, in contrast to the proud trumpets is the humble tuba. In what one could argue is the “low position,” the tuba is actually, according to my son, carrying the band. His director has even said, “Put your sound into the tuba,” meaning you play in such a way that everyone should try to fit their instrument’s sound within the sound of this often overlooked instrument. It is the tuba, in fact, that is the foundation, keeping the beat and setting the tone of the whole group. The band members must work together to produce awesome music, with no one section or musician thinking they are better or more important than the rest.

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This band analogy reminds me of the apostle Paul’s call for unity in 1 Corinthians 12:  “But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other” (1 Cor 212:24-25). Paul gives similar advice to the church in today’s section of Chapter 12 of Romans, which my Bible titles “Love in Action.” Part of loving is living in harmony with others. Harmony is what got me thinking of band music and how the instruments are unique but work together in balance. Paul calls upon believers to associate with others of “low position.” I believe this could mean many things in our society today. Everything from low socioeconomic status to low on the popularity totem pole - the tubas of the band, important but maybe overlooked. We shouldn’t think ourselves so important that we are unwilling to work with those whom God views as just as valuable as us.  Jesus tells us in the gospel of Matthew that the last shall be first (20:16), and in the Beatitudes, blessed are the meek (5:5)

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A faithful life of Christ-following challenges us to seek out ways to put ourselves second. Humility is showing a modest estimate of one’s importance. This does not mean that you are under-valuing yourself, but that you see yourself rightly in relation to God and others.  

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Are you tempted to be one of the boasting trumpets, rather than playing your part humbly and with the goal of a beautiful group sound? Or are you the tuba? Not valuing your part in the symphony? The conductor of life (God) has a part for each of us, but we must rely on one another and humbly play our part.

Dear God, my sinful heart is bent toward pridefulness. I think of myself as important and deserving, which often leads to me treating others poorly or being completely self-serving. Please help me to walk in humility and to live in harmony with those around me. My desire is to serve others and use my gifts to create your Kingdom here on Earth. In your Son’s name, I pray, Amen.