Why do you do what you do?

This blog has been a long time coming, mainly due to the fact that the topic is probably far larger than I could ever hope to cover but I'm going to try anyway because it's something that has been weighing on my mind for quite a while, need to get the pressure off so I can get on with writing more! gotta get the flow of blogs going again so you people will continue to complain that there are far too many posts going up and you can't keep up!

Enough with the babble and on with what I came here to talk about. Why do you do what you do? It's a question that I had posed to me way back in the day when I was just getting into production. Doing sound and lighting is pretty cool. You get to play with awesome toys, make lots of noise and make buildings shake... or at least air conditioning ducts and ceilings rumble. The other side of it is that there's very often early mornings, late nights and not a whole lot of sleep involved. Some of the events I've done have resulted in a grand total of about 20 hours of sleep in an entire week, and one of the worst has been a full day from 7:30 am Saturday - 3:00 am Sunday for a Youth Alive in brisbane, to come home and have to front up for a church bump in at 5:00 am, barely enough time for an hours sleep in the middle. It's those moments when "why do you do what you do?" becomes key.

I was trying to think of the reasons why you could do something and mostly came up with things that enable you to do it.
1: Because I can. Well duh... why do you think the dog... never mind. because I can isn't enough to make you hang in there when the going gets tough. If it's as simple as "because I can" it'll be pretty simple for you to pull the pin when it seems like you can't.

2: Because it's what I do. Dangerous place to live if you tie your identity up in it. What happens then if you lose the physical ability to do it?

3: Because I love it. in this case I don't think love is being used in the context of it being a choice to love it for the good and the bad. It's a feeling of really enjoying it at the time, but if you're not enjoying it (because everything has a good and a bad side) then why keep going?

4: Because I have all these gifts and talents and I have to use them somehow. still not good enough to see you through the thick and the thin. Where's the motivation when the poo hits the fan? what's to stop you from bunking off and coming back when it's all (apparently) good again?

The only two that I could think of that really would keep you going through thick and thin to keep doing something even though it was tearing you to bits and hurting like hell were these. Theses are additions to the things that enable you to fulfil a function and keep you hanging in there when it gets tough.

1: It's my purpose to see people won into the kingdom of God.
go out into all the world and make disciples of man. I choose to endure and sacrifice the early mornings, heavy lifting, late nights and physical abuse because it's my way of contributing to church and making an environment that people can come into and hear the word of God without being distracted and so that they might be given an opportunity to come to know him.

2: to give glory to God
you're probably wondering how late nights and heavy lifting gives glory to God. Well it enables the musicians and singers to get up on stage and do their thing and praise God through music, it enables the congregation to praise him in the traditional manner. Sure I can't always lift my voice and hands to him in worship, but the attitude with which I push buttons and move faders is that I'll do the very best I can because I'm doing it for my Lord and Saviour! He gave everything for me, so the least I can do is give back of my time, my muscles and my gifts and talents... after all he gave them to me anyway!

With those two over-riding principles guiding me I'm guarded from having my purpose wrapped up in what I do. Sure I do what I do because of the purpose, but what I do doesn't determine the purpose, so if I lose my sight or my hearing I'll still be able to win people into the kingdom, and I'll still be able to give glory to God, I'll just have to come up with a new and creative way of doing it is all!