Being in a band is tough. If you don't believe me ask any other person in a band and they'll tell you the same thing. There's a lot of time and sacrifice that goes into it. You start your gig hours before you ever play the first note by loading up hundreds of pounds of equipment into your car or trailer. Sometimes you're loading that gear into a vehicle it probably wasn't meant to fit in, but some how you jam it in there. Then you try and pile your band in and around all that stuff. You drive a couple of hours cramped, yet excited at the prospect of sharing your music and message with a crowd of people. Then when you arrive you peel yourselves out of what feels like a clown car due to all the stuff and people inside. 
 
Now you're at the venue. It's time to start the duel process of unloading your equipment, slash finding everything you need to get hooked up and ready to play. Sometimes in the "making it fit" stage things get put where they aren't found easily hours later. Things get stuck under a seat or in a bag or box where they just don't belong. You finally get all you stuff together and on stage and well...not enough plugs. This is where people start searching for extension cords and power strips. At this point it's about 20 minutes until the show is supposed to start and you think to yourself," Well everybody must be running late because if you don't count the sound guy, the other bands, the guys putting the show on, and the sound guy's dog.... there's about 1,2,3...10 folks here."  You write it off to the fact that no one is ever on time to anything, much less a local band's concert.

The show was supposed to start a 7, it's now 7:30. You've given everybody a chance to get there. You've taken into account every possible scenario." Folks are just having trouble finding the venue, or they must have thought it started later, or their dog ate their flyer. "Finally, the event's promoter comes over to you apologizes for the turnout and says that maybe you should get started. It's not their fault. Most of these people have incredible hearts and have worked very hard to promote the show. There's no explanation. Sometimes, no matter what you do, no one shows up. So you play and sing your heart out for 10 folks.  Sweaty, tired, and a little disappointed you finish the show. You want to meet the folks who were there to support you and after you've talked to last person there you start packing up again.  The drive home is usually quite after a show like this. You've spent your entire day working and driving to play for 45 minutes. You've missed out on time with your family and more often than not you come home with less money than you left with. You've got a show the next weekend and you know there's a strong possibility of the exact same things repeating themselves. The strange thing is you know this already, and you wouldn't miss it.

But Why? Why spend all that time, money, and effort if it seems like no one cares? Why not stay home and just have fun with it, instead of playing meaningless shows? The reason is simple. It's not about us. It's about Him. God has called all of us to spread His word to the entire world. Our ways are not His. Who's to say if a show was successful but God? Your music may never be heard by anybody but those 10 people, but what if that's enough? What if your "meaningless" show was God's way of inspiring one person that will inspire a generation? I'll never forget a show we played in Atlanta, GA. It was one of those "why are we here" shows. After we were done playing a boy walked up to me and said that he bought our cd and he wanted me to know that it was the first Christian cd he'd ever bought. That was probably 6 years ago. I don't know what happened to that guy or what if any effect our cd had on him. I may never know. That was the moment though I realized that what we are all doing with music is powerful stuff.
 
So for all the sweat, loading and reloading, low attendance, and miles traveled; our job is to be obedient and to use our gifts for His glory. 
We aren't meant to be rock stars. We're meant to be fishers of men. Even when it's hard. Even when it doesn't pay well. Even when it seems like no one cares. We may never know what our obedience can do for the Kingdom of God. God make us humble and use us for your purpose. 
Amen.