It's so funny how the silliest things can take wind in the world and people just jump on it so quickly. I know you all have heard of this new phenomenon called "planking". Planking or "The lying down game" is a fad which consists of people lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. Then someone takes a picture and post it online for all to see. Believe it or not, some people have gotten seriously hurt or killed from this. Probably not something I would consider myself doing anytime soon.
The reason why I thought about this fad is that recently, I've had to experience my own form of planking. Let me explain. The other day I was in the Word and the Lord led me to Matthew 7. The first verse of the chapter was very clear: "Judge not, that ye be not judged..."v.1 I continued reading in the chapter that read:
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. and why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to you brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye', and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matt 7:2-5
Then I read the definition of plank and planking and found that another form of planking is gathering a bunch of planks and laying them aside in a group. And then it hit me: How often do we judge people for any reason really, and we have the same problem or the same issue? I think it's time we start removing some planks.
How does this relate to us as artists?
Many times we look at people and for whatever reason (they look better in the dress you wanted, they have your job, their not doing their job right, they can sing better or can't sing at all, they have an anointing on their life, etc. etc, etc.) we judge them, not realizing that we TOO struggle with the same issue, maybe in a different area or way. I've been to many concerts and midnight musicals where people are dressed to the nines and they only come for the purpose to see what other people are wearing, singing, sounding, dancing. The purpose of the gospel is lost when we #1-take our focus off of God and the reason we are there in the first place; and #2- focus on others and ourselves in comparing ourselves to what others have or do.
Another plank that can we can easily move is that we also judge the validity of someone's else ministry in music because it does not minister to us. Now this is a sticky one, because while there are clear signs that a song is not about God at all and even doesn't uplift Jesus, we are not in a position to judge whether it is effective or not. I'm not talking about songs that cause people to focus on themselves persay, moreso, those songs where it is clear what the message is and because it has a different sound, new beat, and we're not used to it, we say it is not anointed. Even for those who are more inspirational in nature, we cannot judge who it will reach and how. We cannot unrighteously judge the artists who make it. And we should embrace anyone who has taken up the cross to follow Christ, denied themselves, and answered the call to minister through song, despite how different the sound.
I think of some people, some of whom I have sung beside like Tye Tribbett, Jai, and Mali Music and how different their ministry is but very effective and anointed. I imagine they must have had a rough start getting people to even receive their music let alone listen to it and buy it. and now they are ministering to nations. I, too will one day joins the ranks of unashamed and unabashed artists whose main purpose is to preach the message of Christ in song to the nations.
But first, I have some planking to do...
Much Love Family,
RR
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