January 20th, 2026
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Playing Second Fiddle
Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. He thought for a moment and then replied, "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm - that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony."
In Romans 12:10b Paul writes: “Honor one another above yourselves.” You may recall verse 3, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you, Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
There is a common attitude in Christian circles that the walk with Christ is really “all about me.” We fail to realize that God intends our faith to be about “HIM” and about “WE.”
When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he told them there were two and both were about love. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
The way Jesus and Paul taught love was for us to put others above ourselves. As He put it in Matthew 20:16, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
When we honor others we give them first place. The result is God puts us in first place. As Bernstein explained the orchestra just isn’t an orchestra without a second fiddle. You may think that first is the most important, but the one playing harmony moves the sound from a solo to an orchestra. The church is God’s orchestra. We must support each other and prop each other up. When that begins to happen, we find tremendous success in honoring our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and continuing His mission in us of building his eternal kingdom. Let’s see how we each can do in the role of “second fiddle.”
I hope that you will be with us Sunday morning as we share a message based on Romans 12:10 titled, “Honor One Another.” Bring your family and friends to learn more about what it is like being in the Family of God! This will also be our annual Family Get-together, officially called Congregational Meeting. There will be brief ministry reports and election of church leaders. It is a short meeting that will be held right after a slightly cut back worship service. I’ll see you there.
More than just fiddling around,
Jon
Playing Second Fiddle
Leonard Bernstein was once asked which instrument was the most difficult to play. He thought for a moment and then replied, "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm - that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony."
In Romans 12:10b Paul writes: “Honor one another above yourselves.” You may recall verse 3, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you, Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
There is a common attitude in Christian circles that the walk with Christ is really “all about me.” We fail to realize that God intends our faith to be about “HIM” and about “WE.”
When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he told them there were two and both were about love. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
The way Jesus and Paul taught love was for us to put others above ourselves. As He put it in Matthew 20:16, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
When we honor others we give them first place. The result is God puts us in first place. As Bernstein explained the orchestra just isn’t an orchestra without a second fiddle. You may think that first is the most important, but the one playing harmony moves the sound from a solo to an orchestra. The church is God’s orchestra. We must support each other and prop each other up. When that begins to happen, we find tremendous success in honoring our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and continuing His mission in us of building his eternal kingdom. Let’s see how we each can do in the role of “second fiddle.”
I hope that you will be with us Sunday morning as we share a message based on Romans 12:10 titled, “Honor One Another.” Bring your family and friends to learn more about what it is like being in the Family of God! This will also be our annual Family Get-together, officially called Congregational Meeting. There will be brief ministry reports and election of church leaders. It is a short meeting that will be held right after a slightly cut back worship service. I’ll see you there.
More than just fiddling around,
Jon
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