Thanks to two friends of mine, I have discovered The Voice, now that it's in the tenth season. A while back I told Leah that we were going to have to watch this season, because a friend of mine was trying out for the Blind Auditions. Simon, your mother was the only person I ever knew who had the pipes to cover a Mariah Carey song and not fall short of the original,, and you, my friend, have got it too. Now, I don't think you could sing Mariah worth a flip, but you have a great voice. Keep trying. I saw someone make it to the Blind Auditions this season that had tried and failed seven times before. Also I think Blake would love you, but I would go with Adam anyway.
Now that the personal message portion of my writing is done, you see what first sparked my interest. Simon Snyder, who is more than good enough to be on the show, was trying out, and didn't make it....this time. I don't know if it was song choice, nerves or if whoever was doing the auditions just simply messed up, but when I heard he wouldn't be there this season, I changed my mind about watching the show. There was no reason to watch after all. Then one day when we were hanging out, my buddy Christian wanted to watch the first two episodes he had recorded. I was pretty much hooked.
I decided to go back and stream from the start of the first season and work my way through all the ones I've missed. There have been several preacher's kids on the show, which I think is pretty cool. But the way that the show is designed made me think about some things that I am very grateful that about. For those whom, like me, have made the mistake of not watching this show and are unfamiliar with it, The Voice is not just an American Idol copy cat. And it works differently. Professional singers, or coaches, campaign to recruit talented singers onto their teams based on voice alone. They can not see the person until after they make a choice. But then it gets a little messed up. The teams are cut down to finalists from within. Until the very end, your only competition is your own team members, which means these are not actually teams. It also means that if the majority of the best singers end up on the same team, they will be eliminated by one another, and weaker voices can survive longer by being the strongest voice on a weak team. It also means that coaches must pit their performers against one another and choose one to keep based on who rose to the occasion and did well or who they like more or whatever criteria they have. They have to sacrifice one to raise up another.
I am so grateful that this is a game and not how life has to be. Jesus came by and called out come to Me. He offers His love and help and a better life worth living. And if we respond to His call, we get to join Him, have relationship with our Creator and be personally trained and coached by the Holy Spirit to bring out the best of the gifts that we have been given. But here's what I am grateful for. You never get kicked off the team for choking under pressure or failing to measure up to somebody else. In fact, God never compares us to anyone but Himself, and since we all fail miserably when compared to perfection, He pours out His grace on us all and makes a way where there was no way before. He knows just how to coax out the best of what is within us and that we were created with so that we can shine, but He doesn't illuminate any of us by dimming anyone else on the team. He never raises one up by putting another down, and while we compete against each other far too often, that simply breaks His heart. He wants us to be family in unity who help one another reflect His glory to the best possible degree.
But His ways are not our ways. Too often, we act more like we're competing on The Voice. We try to outshine the person next to us by overshadowing them. We try to earn God's attention and favor. We put down our brothers and sisters to try to make ourselves look better. Today, let us remember that being on God's team means having the best talent coach possible within us, it means never having to worry about being eliminated....ever, and it means that we are suppose to love and help one another, not fight and compete amongst ourselves.
One last thing, Simon, I still can't wait to hear your original song "Jesus And Cigarettes" hit the charts.
Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on
March 12, 2016.
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