It’s Got To Be More Than A “Job”
“It’s music. It’s supposed to be fun and inspirational. You have to be inspired. If I did it because it was my ‘job,’ and I only did it to make money, I don’t think I’d still be doing it.” Max Martin
Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish songwriter, record producer and singer. He has written many songs for or with several top recording artists including Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC. While he may not have done it “only to make money”, he is estimated to be worth 260 million dollars.
I have written before about passion, that fire that burns within us and fuels who we are and what we do. Today’s quote once again reminds us that our passion for the Lord should drive our everyday living. If we only pray and do good works because we are supposed to do those things, our prayer and good works will fall short.
When Martin stated “If I did it because it was my ‘job,’ and I only did it to make money, I don’t think I’d still be doing it,” we can say the same about our faith life. If we only pray because we have to or do good works because it is expected or go to Mass because it is a required, it will not sustain us in our faith lives. We inevitably will quit doing those things or, if we continue out of perceived expectation, we will not be fulfilled.
If, on the other hand, we pray and do corporal and spiritual works of mercy in order to give praise and thanks to God, well, that will sustain us. It will invigorate us. It will feed us as our joy wells up in our souls and spills out into even deeper prayer and greater works. We will want to do more not out of expectation but, rather, out of sheer love for Jesus Christ.
Some people have asked me the past few weeks if there is anything that they can do for others right now. Because of the pandemic, most all of our outreach has been curtailed. However, I reminded them, we can always pray. If we hold others in our thoughts and prayers, we are doing more than we can possibly imagine and not just for them but for ourselves as well.
We are reminding ourselves that we are part of a larger family of faith and that we have a responsibility for one another. Consider that today and, if you cannot do anything else for others, at least keep them in your prayers. You can also call them up and let them know that you are praying for them. It might not be as personal as a face-to-face greeting but, at least, they will know someone cares about them.
FAITH ACTION: Whatever you do in your faith life today, do it out of love for Jesus Christ and not because it is expected or required.