Who calls the tune in your life?

Living above the line

29 June 2008

1 Introduction

Living above the line means living an above-average life.
It is rising above those things that might dominate us and control us and determine what we do.
It is allowing nothing to determine our destiny except the Lord Jesus Christ.
Above the line are mastery, peace, victory, assurance, sacrifice.
Below it are slavery, turmoil, defeat, doubt, selfishness.
What is it to be? Mastery or slavery? Peace or turmoil? Victory or defeat? Assurance or doubt? Sacrifice or selfishness?
The topic today comes from an old saying: ‘He who pays the piper calls the tune.’
Imagine an Elizabethan castle. The Lord of the Manor is seated at the high table on the dais, surrounded by special guests. Pewter and silver bowls and plates cover the table, with large knives and spoons spread out as eating utensils. Servants hurry to and from filling goblets and bringing more meat, fruit or pastries on large platters. Footmen and retainers stand stiffly at their posts near the entrances. A few dogs lie under the large food-laden boards (hence, ‘above board’), chewing on bones thrown there by the diners. Sitting unobtrusively to one side is a piper, playing gentle Elizabethan melodies. One of the guests, wanting to impress the graceful lady at his arm, calls out above the din, ‘Hey, piper! Give ear, I prithee. Canst thou play Matchless Maiden?’ The piper nods faintly and launches reluctantly into the song. Suddenly the Lord of the manor realizes what has happened. He breaks off his conversation and calls loudly to the piper, ‘Piper! What folly is this? What dost thou? Did I not instruct thee to play Greensleeves? How then dost thou play another? Who clothest thee? At whose board dost thou feed? In whose castle dost thou lodge? Whence came the coins in thy purse? If thou hast at least as many brains in that addle-patted skull of thine, as thou dost in thy little finger, thou wilt realize that he who payeth the piper calleth the tune!’ Without hesitation, the piper changes melodies.
We face a similar dilemma everywhere these days. One area of major challenge concerns employment in Christian organizations. Often their work is subsidized by the Government so the Government believes they should determine who they can or cannot employ. Currently Christian schools are exempt but pressures to over rule this. Some political parties are pushing hard for the right to call the tune.
At tertiary level, Government agencies are becoming increasingly interventionist in the demands they place upon Bible Colleges and seminaries. The more they fund them the more they demand of them in terms of staffing and curriculum.
Similarly, industry may fund research and demand results by a certain date, whether adequate testing has been carried out or not.
In all these cases, those who ‘pays the piper’ believe they should call the tune.

2 Who is calling the tune in your life?

In other words, what is it that motivates you? What is it that offers you gain or potential gain?
Sport – if you think you could make the Olympics, you would direct everything to achieve that. The reward would be worth it.
Or Music or Politics or Science.
What we think advantages us determines what we do with our time and energy.
We can be in a position where someone or something else that offers great reward appears to have the right to place demands on us that determine what happens in our lives.

3 New Life

When we are baptized we enter a new life. We have died with Christ and we are raised again – Read Romans 6:3-4
This is what baptism is all about – dying to everything that lays an unlawful claim to our lives and rising to a new life in Christ alone
In the Bible, the proverb takes an even stronger meaning. The Bible talks of people being slaves – and to whomever we are enslaved, to that person or thing we are obliged.
People are not only being ‘paid’ to play the piper, but as being slaves are obliged to do so.

4 The choice is ours

So then we are to serve the Lord with our lives.

Read Romans 6:13-23
Either we yield our members as instruments of sin or of righteousness.

5 Things that may enslave us

1.1 Culture

Cultural issues may determine how we act.
There are extremes such as Islamic expectations of women (e.g. female circumcision... wearing the hijab (burqa) etc.)
Or, saving face. For some people, the prospect of having to lose face is so traumatic that it is impossible to cope with it. No matter what Christ demands – or even integrity demands – we just cannot back down. Cultural pressure controls us – that is, it calls the tune.
Example of a pastor who was found to have mishandled funds accidentally but could not cope with the possibility of admitting his fault because of the shame it would bring.
The Bible has a name for this: it is called pride. And God hates it.
See James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:6

1.2 Family
Family pressures can dominate us. E.g. Young Asian men who are called upon to officiate at a father’s funeral. There are huge family expectations for them to offer Buddhist prayers and to make token offerings in respect to ancestors. It is almost impossible to stand up to this. How can an eldest son refuse? How can he dishonor his father and mother? It’s just a joss stick or a paper mache model or some hell money… What’s wrong with this? But family expectations call the tune.

1.3 Parental ambition.

Example of a wife who believed her children were more important even than her husband. She brought her children from Singapore to Australia and lived here with them. She was away for 15 years of 30 years of marriage for the sake of her children’s education.
Such parents make great sacrifices so that children can earn good money and then look after parents when they are old (c.f. 1 Timothy 5:4). But what if Jesus calls the son or daughter to be a missionary or to live among the poor or to go to Bible College? Parents may say, ‘We paid all this money… we sacrificed… and this is how you repay us.’
Jesus gives an even higher challenge – Luke 14:26-27.

1.4 Security

While being financially secure allows us to be generous, the power of having a career, a home, a car and so on may prevent us from giving. It may over-rule having children, obeying the gospel, helping the needy. Who calls the tune?
What if we witness for Christ at work – will it jeopardize our employment?

1.5 Pain

Sickness or pain or disappointment can dominate our lives. Pain calls the tune and determines how we will react to what is happening around us.
After finishing Hall-Moody Institute in Martin, Tenn., Eugene Monroe Bartlett began teaching in singing schools and in 1918, established the Hartford Music Co. in Hartford, Ark. For more than 20 years, he conducted singing schools throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Tennessee. In 1939, two years before his death, he suffered a stroke. He couldn’t speak but he wrote a song called ‘Victory in Jesus’. It took him a month to write it. But it was his declaration of victory through Christ no matter what. Sickness was not going to prevent him from testifying to victory in Christ. It would not call the tune.

1.6 Public opinion

Fear of what people think can control our lives.
‘We’d worry a lot less about what people think of us if we realized how rarely they do.’
What if we don’t participate in sinful activities – refuse a drink – walk away from a shady deal – refuse to act dishonestly – say no to sexual advances…
Who calls the tune – fear of what people think or our own freedom to choose?

1.7 Sin
Overall is the problem of sin. Lust, greed, pride, materialism, security, etc… All are basically self-focused. As long as we enslaved by our own selfish desires we will continue to play sin’s tune.

6 Who calls the tune?

So who calls the tune in your life?
Are your life-decisions determined by culture, public opinion, lust, greed or ambition because you are enslaved by them?
Or do you determine under God what happens because you are now a slave of God?
Example of Paul who cried, ‘I will not be enslaved by anything!’ (1 Cor 6:12b).
When Jesus was on trial, a casual observer would have looked at the scene and assumed Pilate was in control. But in fact, it was Jesus. When Pilate asked Jesus if he knew that he had authority to crucify him, Jesus responded, ‘You would have not authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.’ (John 19:11).
Polycarp was an early church leader in Smyrna. It is said that he had personally known the apostle John. In his old age, he was taken before an angry crowd in the arena and asked to burn incense to Caesar. He said, ‘I am not going to do what you ask me.’ He refused to let someone else call the tune. After many threats, and demands that he curse Christ, he said, ‘Eighty and six years have I served him and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?’
No one else can force us to do what we do not believe it is right to do.

7 Bought with a price

In the same passage where Paul says he will not be mastered by any thing, he goes on to point out that we have been bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20). We are not our own – Jesus paid for us with his blood. So he is the one who now calls the tune.
In Christ, we now choose to do the will of God.

Something to think or talk about

Remember, you don’t have to answer all the questions. Choose those that seem most relevant.

Read: Romans 6:1-13

Biblical
1. What answer does Paul give to the question in verse one?
2. What form of baptism is being considered in 3 and 4? Sprinkling, pouring or immersion? Why?
3. Is baptism just symbolic? (3 and 4). Why or why not?
4. What is the outcome of being baptized into Christ? (6)
5. What is our responsibility? (12, 13)

Personal and practical
6. What cultural or family issues may ‘call the tune’ in your life? What can you do about them?
7. How have you coped or do you cope with situations that ‘enslave’ you? (e.g sickness, financial pressure, public opinion etc)
8. To what extent is verse 14 true for you?
9. Locate Polycarp on the internet and read the whole story. It will inspire you.

Christian Life