Give of Your Best

"Give of Your Best to the Master" (by Howard Grose, 1851-1939, no. 187 in The Cokesbury Worship Hymnal, public domain) is an old hymn that is still popular in some churches.

Give of your best to the Master; give of the strength of your youth;
Throw you soul's fresh, glowing ardor into the battle for truth.
Jesus has set the example; dauntless was He, young and brave;
Give Him your loyal devotion, give Him the best that you have.

Give of your best to the Master; give Him first place in your heart;
Give Him first place in your service, consecrate every part.
Give and to you shall be given; God His beloved Son gave;
Gratefully seeking to serve Him, give Him the best that you have.

Give of your best to the Master; naught else is worthy His love;
He gave Himself for your ransom, gave up His glory above:
Laid down His life without murmur, you from sin's ruin to save;
Give Him your heart's adoration, give Him the best that you have.

Although its language reflects an earlier time and generation, the message remains important to every generation of Christians: in the words of Scripture, "Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first fruits of your produce" (Proverbs 3:9, NRSV). It is the idea that whatever we do, whatever we offer to God as gift or service, should be the very best of which we are capable of giving, doing, and being. We hold this ideal up to our choirs and congregations weekly: "Sing your best! God deserves only our best efforts!" And it is the reason why accomplished organists still go to the church and again practice the familiar hymns to be sung the following Sunday.

Today, however, we recognize a variation on this theme. One recent writer to the Methodist Musicians Listsaid this:

"Our 'best' is indeed a relative term. Not only does it vary from one person or one situation to another, but individually. Some days we are 'on'; and other days, it seems no matter what we try, we just can't sing/play/ring as well as others. It's called the human condition."

It is true that some people's best is just not as good as some other people's best. I do a pretty fair job of playing solo pop piano and seem to do my best on songs by composers such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and Jerome Kern. However, put me on the piano bench in front of the most glorious Bösendorfer 9-foot grand on my very best day, and my best will never sound like anything but child's play compared to Andre Previn's playing of the same music. I've practiced and played this music for fifty years, even making a living at it at times; but no one will ever judge my best playing to begin to compare with Andre Previn.

Isn't that the same with the singers in our choirs? Some are simply better singers than others — more natural talent, more training, more practice, better attitude, more communicative, better tone quality, diction, control, and support. The truth is, if our singers all offer their best, the results are not equal. We hear the difference, as do the other singers and members of the congregation. We all accept the notion of giving our very best as a musical offering in worship, even if the quality of our individual bests varies greatly. One person's best is mere child's play compared to another.

In light of that, I offer some questions for consideration:

1. Does God honor our standards of judging best? Does God take note of these differences in our best offerings? Does God care that one person's best is child's play compared to another?
2. Or does God care more about intention? Is what's important the worshiper's heart and mind rather than accuracy of pitch and rhythm?
3. If so, or if not:
   • What does that say to us about how we approach the task of leading a choir in worship?
   • How important is training and rehearsal of choirs?
   • Does this have any impact on how we allocate rehearsal time?
   • What do we do about those whose talents detract from the beauty and excellence of the group; but who, nevertheless, are offering their best?
4. All of the following are of importance to choir and praise team members, but how would you rank them in importance in your own situation?
   • Musical skill, precision, and accuracy (pitch, blend, rhythm, diction, expression, etc.)
   • Fidelity to musical style
   • Faithfulness in attendance at rehearsal
   • Faithfulness in attendance at worship
   • A joyful spirit and positive attitude
   • A sense of pastoral care and ministry toward other choir/team members
   • A commitment to the task of leading and enabling congregational worship
   • Personal growth in faith and discipleship
5. What does it mean for our choirs and praise teams to offer their best? In our leading, direction, and pastoral care of choir members, how do we help them give their best to God?