"A few can touch the magic string,
And noisy Fame is proud to win them;
Alas for those that never sing,
But die with all their music in them!"
-Oliver Wendell Holmes

OME OF MY FONDEST MEMORIES OF school days are those of participating in various campus musical groups. I spent many pleasant afternoons in academy rehearsing with the choir or band. Later, as a music major at college, I found that membership in the collegiate choir was expected. And with the rare exceptions (such as the requirement to attend-robed and in possession of all my mental faculties-a few 7:00 a.m. rehearsals in preparation for two church services), it was an obligation I gladly fulfilled.

In choir there were four divisions: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The distinctions made within each division had less to do with vocal ability than with vocal timbre and range. A "first soprano," for example, had nothing over a "second alto."

In band, however, I noticed that the organization was much more complex. There was, as with most any group, a pecking order, a certain hierarchical dynamic that operated throughout the audition and selection process.

Each group of persons playing a particular instrument was divided into sections. In Section III were players who were able to read and perform the music with a reasonable amount of ability. In Section II were those who had developed a greater measure of facility on their chosen instrument. And then there was Section I-those who, simply put, were the best.

But by no means was this the end of the classification process. Each player was also assigned a certain place, called a "chair," within the section. The most coveted spot of all was that of "first chair." For the serious musician, first chair was, as Shakespeare expressed it, "such stuff as dreams are made of." First chair meant crème de la crème, top dog, numero uno!

Sometimes when the final cut was posted in the hallway of the music building, there were tears from some whose self-confidence was toppled by finding that their placement was not that of first chair. A false sense of pride and a spirit of discontent would not allow them to be anything "less than" number one. Occasionally someone would even vow, "I'll never try out for anything again!"

Don't Misunderstand Me
There's certainly nothing wrong with becoming the very best that one can be. But a lot of grief in this world of ours is caused by spending an inordinate amount of time worrying about whether one is "first chair" material. After all, it could be reasoned, who wants to be a "second fiddle"? You know what a second fiddle is-Tonto played second fiddle to the Lone Ranger. And do you remember Lucy's friendly neighbor Ethel (in I Love Lucy)? A character with great personality, but the big laughs were reserved for the star of the show.

Maybe we get the idea that we have to be first because of the messages that constantly bombard us. Today's slick advertising barely conceals a "me first" message. You owe it to yourself to have the newest car, the freshest breath. You're impossibly out of it without the correct pair of jeans. Your hair color is expensive . . . but aren't you worth it?

Plastic surgeons tell us we need suction, reduction, and reconstruction. It's the age of the corporate takeover and the leveraged buyout, because bigger is equated with better. Even good ol' SDAs can become totally absorbed in our CDs, IRAs, HMOs, and BMWs. The underlying message? Things might be going well, but you'd better look over your shoulder. Yesterday's success is old news.

The problem with first chair versus second fiddle mentality is that it can spill over into our spiritual lives. Our vision becomes distorted, our values skewed.

Can Even Lead to Murder
A few years ago the nation was shocked to hear the incredible story of a Texas woman arrested on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder. What motive, I wondered as I looked at her picture, could make a suburban, churchgoing Mrs. Average consider such a deed?

It seems the woman's 13-year-old daughter wanted desperately to become a cheerleader at the local junior high school but faced stiff competition from a rival. In an effort to assure her daughter's success, this mother sought out a hit man (who turned out to be an undercover police officer) to murder the mother of the rival, reasoning that the girl would be in no condition to try out for the squad while in the throes of grief.

Blind ambition and competition run amok are manifestations of Christ's archrival, Satan. Not content with his position of trust as leader of the angelic hosts of heaven, he plotted to gain the very throne of God.

"Pride and ambition are widespread; and when these are cherished, they open the door to envy, and a striving for supremacy; the soul is alienated from God, and unconsciously drawn into the ranks of Satan."¹

Oh, that we would catch a glimpse of ourselves the way God sees us! "I love you people," He asserts, "with a love that lasts forever. I'll be faithful to you and I will continue to love you and draw you close to me."² What is our worth? Inestimable. For the King of glory paid for us with His own life.

One of my favorite choral groups is Soli Deo Gloria, whose name when translated from the Latin means "we sing to the glory of God alone." How do our lives translate to our associates, our families? No matter what we may profess, do they see only our mad scramble for "first chair"? Or are we among those-

"Who carry music in their heart
Through dusky lane and wrangling mart,
Plying their daily task with busier feet,
Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat?"³

Though we live in a competitive world, we need not be consumed with a first chair or second fiddle mentality. When we turn the focus from ourselves, look to Jesus, and become filled with His love, we are miraculously changed into living testimonies of His grace.

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¹ Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 403, 404.
² Jer. 31:3, Clear Word.
³ John Keble, The Christian Year.

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Joann M. Herrington is superintendent of education and director of institutional development and education for the Central States Conference, in Kansas City, Kansas.