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Less is More

  

Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument he considered to be the most difficult to play. After a moment, he responded, “Second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who can play second fiddle with enthusiasm—that’s a problem.”

  Most folks don’t want to be the lesser. That is what is so amazing about John the Baptist. John was the most popular man of his day (Mark 1:5). His reach was so great that it caused men of power to be afraid of him (Matthew 21:25-26, Mark 16:20).

  Yet in John 3, his disciples were worried that the crowds were all turning to Jesus. Was John worried about losing his luster? No, he saw it as exactly what must happen. That was his mission.  As he said it in verse 30, "He must increase, but I must decrease.”

  His job wasn’t to build himself up, but to build up Jesus.

  And that is our mission as well.

  In a world that is all about ‘building your brand’ and self-promotion, we might think it is all about us. It's not. Jesus is in first place. He is greater. He holds top place.

  But don’t worry, if you play alongside him, you will still be able to make beautiful music.

  When we lift him up, he elevates us. Consider John again. What did Jesus say of him in Matthew 11:11, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!”

  In James 4:10, we are told, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

  Less can be more, if you are the less and He is the more. 

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