By Scott Coner
Nashville Recording Artist, Songwriter, Performer, and Author
Years ago, I did a paper while in college
about glossolalia. Basically, glossolalia is the gift of speaking in tongues. I
found myself in a Pentecostal church for a while, but I’m actually a Baptist. I
know plenty of people that feel it is pretty important to receive this gift. I
don’t speak lightly of it because I do believe in the gifts of the Spirit. I
believe that God can do anything He wants so, I’m certain he can allow someone
to speak in a foreign tongue or a dead language if it glorifies Him in some
way.
For a while, I remember being troubled that I didn’t ever have
such a gift given to me. I think a lot of people probably thought I wasn’t
living clean enough to meet the standard. They might have been right. I just
don’t know. But, now all these years later, I look back and see a flaw in their
approach. I think maybe they were trying to put the Power of God in a box. They
knew a few utterances that they seemed to provide to the church body every
single Sunday during the service, but that was about it as far as I could tell.
They might hop around a little with a tambourine, but I am not for sure that
was the Spirit. I think most of it was overkill. But you know, it’s not for me
to judge. I was just a guy trying to find his place in the world and apply a
little bit of Truth along the way. I remember wishing they could try to get a
handle on things before the lunch lines in town got so long. It seemed to me
that just about every Sunday during final prayer so and so would want to start
winding up about some sin someone’s husband was involved in and jack up my
cafeteria time.
I find my quiet time alone is usually when I can think the
clearest. I can pray. I can thank God for what He has done and continues to do
in my life and in the lives of those that I love. I have also found that
songwriting is probably His gift to me. Songwriting has allowed me to better
understand myself through the years. It has allowed me to process certain
things that have happened and given me the chance to measure my own response
and how I choose to live. I’m not perfect. None of us are. But I think as we
get a little bit of age on us we begin to look back and see certain things may
have happened for a reason. Other things happened, and we made the best of
whatever it was. And sometimes life throws curve balls that make no sense at
all and never will as long as we live on this earth.
Scott Coner's latest video, Line In It, is an audience favorite!
I
have found quiet moments with some paper and a guitar and allowed my mind to go
over to that place that speaks for me. I may sit there and play some chords and
all of a sudden a melody or a phrase just presents itself. I follow the rabbit
as it leads me down some unknown path and sometimes it can be quite surprising.
The very concept of a song may speak to me on a personal level that allows for
some explanation that I can apply to my own thought process a little bit later.
I feel like that is a gift from God. He works through some very limited vessels
sometimes I am told.
There are those around my hometown that grumble a little bit as
they eat their fried chicken in their polyester flower print dress. They talk
about how I have wasted my life because every single song I sing and write
isn’t always about God. They seem to like the idea that I am probably
miserable, and there is no way I am happy. Well, I would be lying if I
told you that I care even a smidgen about what those people think. But let me
tell you what the whole thing is about. I have written many songs about my
relationship with God. I have written about my beliefs and understanding, and I
am proud of those songs. But, I have been living a life while those church
ladies have been talking me down while eating fried food. I have fallen in
love. I have raised kids. I have made mistakes. I have accidentally hurt hearts
that I care about. And I have pursued a career in music that allows me to share
my songs with a lot of people at a level that has surprised me more than you
could imagine. Mostly, though, I have found happiness.
You see, I think God gives us all kinds of special gifts. If we
look around, it doesn’t take long to see them. I was in the back of our farm
today by the creek. The sun was coming through the thick leaves of the trees.
The birds were making all kinds of cool sounds, but in the midst of it all
there was a dove hidden somewhere that continued to make his song speak to me.
This is just one little moment when I can feel the presence of God. The warmth
of the sun, the beauty of the water and the woods, and the breeze that we can’t
see are all reminders of His hand.
The music that is in my life is just one component. It is
important, but there are many pieces and parts that make up my life that I want
and require. Your life is just like mine. We may not have the same interests or
backgrounds, but we are still pretty much the same. The Gift of the Spirit is
what is living and breathing in our world. Yes, I am sure if you want, you
could receive the gift of “tongues”, but there is so much more. I wrote a song
years ago that speaks about the presence of the wind itself. You can feel a
cold wind, can’t you? But you can’t see it even though you know for sure it’s
there. Music is my thing. I love to listen to it. I love to write it. And I
love what it has allowed into my life. I truly hope that you have something in
your life that is just yours. It can be anything. But just remember to take the
time to allow whatever it is to flow through your world. Let it give you the
enjoyment that you need and deserve.
Man, sometimes I read my blogs, and I think I might be Joel
Olsteen without the giant smile. But I swear to you that what I’m telling you
is important. Life has so much to give, and I don’t think we take the full
helping sometimes. Maybe we feel a little bit guilty. Maybe we think we have as
much as we can handle. Or, maybe we don’t feel like we even deserve anymore
because of past mistakes. I’m here to tell you that all of those thoughts are
wrong. We all have it in us to be more than we are. We all have it in us to
chase our dreams and grab those suckers by the throat. You go grab a hold of
what you want!
And let me say one last thing. If you are that person that had his
ears perk up a little a ways back when I was talking about speaking in tongues,
I’m going to tell you about a shortcut. Go outside and slam your hand in your
car door. It will be like magic. You will find yourself speaking in a language
nobody else can interpret, and you may actually even see God. You are welcome.
Keep in touch!
Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at his music page.
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