The Payoff

By Scott Wetzel

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Gal 6:9 (NIV)

I used to work in a used CD shop right after I graduated college.  It consisted mostly of buffing out surface scratches on newly acquired stock, alphabetizing, and testing (for extended periods of time) used video game systems.  There were two things in particular that I liked to do.  One thing was alphabetizing the store.  The reason I liked to do that wasn’t because I’m really organized.  It was because it gave me a chance to look through every CD we had in the store.  I could see if something was new that I somehow missed or I could search our “Bad Rock” sections (the sections of CD’s that were never going to sell) for hidden gems to bolster my music snob cred.  The other thing was a ritual that happened several times a day, and that was air guitaring.  We would not just “play air guitar” but we would air guitar with every ounce of passion in our bodies. 

There was one song in particular that seemed to have the best air guitar dynamics in the world.  It was a song with an unrepeatable title by The Impossibles. It starts out very quiet and the quiet lasts for the entire first verse.  There’s a lot of tension but no build up…then the chorus just hits you.  The amps are overdriven and the whole band breaks out in gang vocals.  The song goes from quiet tension instantly into a wall of sound, led by a really hooky guitar riff.  We would air guitar very nonchalantly, standing on the counters.  As the chorus neared, we knew what was about to happen…so we’d crouch.  We’d crouch lower and lower and lower.  And then, just before the first note of the chorus, we’d jump off the counters, tucking our legs under ourselves and landing RIGHT as the first note of the chorus was being played.  And then we’d rock hard.  The first few times we listened to the song, we’d land at separate times, one too early, one too late, but after a few times, we were experts at air guitaring that song.

I wish my life was like that.   I hate waiting.  I hate tension.  I hate knowing what my purpose in life is and not being able to run full bore with it.  I know that’s probably not very spiritual, and I’m probably admitting that I’m a lot farther from righteousness than you’d like.  But it’s truth.  I don’t like waiting for the chorus in real life.  I know the payoff is huge but I don’t want to listen to the verse.  I don’t want to continue preparing. 

So I jump too soon.

I land at the wrong time and everything gets all awkward.

In the mean time, I’ll continue to seek God.  I know in my heart that if I look to Him and strive for His ways, eventually I’ll land at the same time He has purposed.  Lord, give me the patience to wait for the chorus.  The payoff will be enormous.