Faith Esham

At a recent funeral service, I was scheduled to preach right after a lady delivered a solo. It wasn’t just any lady singing. It was Faith Esham, an accomplished vocalist who for years has made a living singing opera. (Faith grew up in my home town, but she lives in New York now. I don’t know why she thought she couldn’t make a living as an opera singer in a small town in Kentucky!)

As I listened to Faith sing a beautiful old hymn, it suddenly occurred to me that I was up next. I had to follow a professional opera singer! That didn’t seem fair at all! I found myself wishing that I had been able to have some input on what the lineup would be.

But then I realized that we all can’t have the same kind of talent. It wasn’t a competition. All I could do was to do what I was supposed to do—preach the funeral message—and do it to the best of my ability.

That’s all any of us can do. Use the talent God has given us and give it our best effort. There is no need to compare ourselves with others—especially professional opera singers!

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us…”—Romans 12:6.