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It has come as a powerful revelation to me that the value of your work depends on why you do it and who you do it for. We recently had a special election to fill a state senate seat and a politically powerful friend leaned on me for two hours to run for it because he knew I spent a quarter of a century in local politics and 16 of those years in elected office. I see politics and all work as ministries so my purpose here is not to disparage politics but I decided that continuing my work as a writer and musician/storyteller was more important for me. As people urged me to run for that seat, they said things like, “You need to be back where the action is,” and “You need to be where you can make a difference.” If politics had been the best way to change the world, I think Jesus would have chosen it instead of becoming a storyteller. Aside from all the pomp and ritual built around Him and his words, I believe He was the most advanced man in human history. He chose to become a storyteller and His stories have done more to change people than any political activity in history. The politicians who have most influenced the world toward the good have been those who lived by the light and power in His stories. While I was in office, I considered politics as one of the ministries in my life at that time. But I must be honest and say that it was never a great love of mine. I much preferred writing and making music. There were aspects of politics that gored me to the ground like the horn of a big bull. I did it until I felt I had accomplished the major goals I had set for my service and I decided it was time to return to my first loves (writing and music). When you tell someone that the work they are doing has little meaning, you can take their heart right out of that work unless they have thought it through and have a clear vision and understanding of the value of their work. The “action” for you is where your heart is. You can make the greatest difference in this old world by doing what you love, working as “unto the Lord.” Jesus said when you do it lovingly, you do it for Him: “Inasmuch as you do it unto the least, you do it unto me.” This truth is embodied in my frequent statement, “When I play for money, I get money. When I play for the Lord, I get the Lord and that’s a good deal.” Once a fellow nightclub musician said to me, “Some nights it takes a lot of vodka to get me doing but you hit the stage happy and eager to play. How do you do it?” I told him, “I dedicate that night’s music to someone I love, including the so-called ‘deceased,’ and if no one comes to mind, I dedicate it to the Lord.” He shivered and said, “Don’t say that … that’s a nightclub!” I said, “Pal, in Him we live and move and have our being, so that means He is in there as much as He is in any church. That place is full of lonely people who need for us to do what we do in love of them, as well as our music.” Yes, the value of our work depends on why we do it and who we do it for. Never let anyone tell you where the “action” is and how to make a difference. The action is right where you are and you will make a difference when you do your thing with love, no matter what your work may be.
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