Be An Instrument

Peasant Times-Dispatch Issue 25

Be an instrument of Gold or steel, or iron or platinum, big or small, rough or delicate. All are useful; each one serves its own purpose. As in material things: would anyone dare assert that the carpenter’s saw is less useful than the surgeon’s scalpel? Your duty is to be an instrument.

- St. Josemaria Escriva

The Return of St. Josemaria Escriva

St. Josemaria Escriva is a relatively new Saint on my radar. His book called “The Way” is 999 quotes about the life of faith. St. Josemaria Escriva founded the order Opus Dei, and is an inspiration. His “Way” will feature heavily in my quote repository, and it was hard to choose which quote to use to introduce him. This is #484 in “The Way”.

First Things First

I’ve often wondered what gives life meaning. I’m not talking about choosing between life and death—there’s no question there, though it hasn’t always been clear to me why. I’m talking about, once you’re living, what do you…y’know, do?

Growing up I would say I was raised with a very utilitarian mindset. And not in any broad sweeping, magnanimous way—what is useful to me? And disregard all who obstruct my way to getting what I want. I witnessed this pattern over and over and I saw that it never terminated in anything like satisfaction or contentment. There’s always something else, some new thing, some new interest or desire.

As I’ve tried to improve my health and wellness, I often describe it as wanting to be “usefully strong”. There’s an element of utilitarianism in that still: I don’t want to be asked to help and then be unable to because I am physically weak. That’s a recurring nightmare of mine, for some reason. Armchair psychologists, eat your hearts out.

Both kinds of utilitarianism miss the mark, by the standard of St. Josemaria Escriva. Life does not find fulfillment in being an instrument for my own benefit, nor does life find fulfillment in being an instrument for the benefit of others per se. Life finds fulfillment in being an instrument for God—all else follows.

Not Mine But Thine

I like to think of God’s Will as a matter of understanding your responsibilities. We have a body—we have a responsibility to take care of our bodies. We have a shelter, we have the responsibility to make our shelter habitable. We have money, we have a responsibility to use that money wisely (and not just for our own benefit). We have family, we have the responsibility to love and care for them as befits our relationship and circumstances. We live in a community, we have a responsibility to work to the good of that community. We are creations of God, we have a responsibility to worship God¹.

I’m getting sidetracked here. Let’s talk for a second about what it means to be an instrument. An instrument in this context is like a tool. It’s something that does work. A chisel in the hand of a craftsman can produce a sculpture. A paintbrush in the hands of an artist can produce a landscape. A wrench in the hands of a mechanic can repair a car. The right tool for the right job. The components we’re talking about here are the craftsman, the instrument, the job, and the outcome. The craftsman is God, and we are all instruments in His capable hands. The job in this context is our lives. God is doing some work in our lives. And the outcome is that God’s will is done!

Now, here’s the thing. A mere instrument is specially designed for one job. A screwdriver is only useful when there’s screws around. To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. We are much more complex than that, and can achieve much more when we put ourselves at God’s disposal. So there will be times when God needs to repair the rusty beat-up lemon that is our lives. There will be times when God needs to paint a beautiful landscape in our lives. There will be times when God needs us to help nail boards together in someone else’s life. It is at times dirty, hard, unromantic; and yet at other times it is glorious, beautiful, awe-some. St Escriva’s admonition is that we commit to being an instrument, whatever the task is that God needs to accomplish.

The Divine Craftsman

As peasants, we are familiar by now with the concept of doing work, of doing our best and meaning it, of not letting ourselves be satisfied that we have done enough. This quote from St Escriva gives us a glimpse at a “why” we do these things. Because if we content ourselves with merely being an instrument, and we detach ourselves from being concerned with outcomes, we know that anything that happens comes from God. When we find ourselves with a repaired car, a beautiful landscape, attached boards, we know it was God’s will that these things be.

It’s also an antidote to comparison. The Saints might be golden instruments—I might be a rusty wrench. I don’t have to wait to be golden to be instrumental. If I put myself at God’s disposal I can trust that my work—whatever it is—will be glorious.

Photo by Anton Savinov on Unsplash

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Thank you for reading! God bless!

AJPM

1. This is a more complicated idea than mere italics can emphasize. What is “Worship”? It’s outside the scope of this article, but if you’re a close reader I’d like to hear your opinion. How do you define “worship”?