Quickthorn read Proverbs 6:6-8, John 1:46, 1 Corinthians 1:27 for the 182.2’s word #146. “They were small. God knew. He chose them anyway.”
Quickthorn read Proverbs 6:6-8, John 1:46, 1 Corinthians 1:27 for the 182.2’s word #146. “They were small. God knew. He chose them anyway.”
No, I don’t think it’s off. I think Ukulele is supposed to be slightly ridiculous.
In fact, making it too grand would betray the septet. You’re writing about God’s repeated habit of making our scale of significance look foolish.
We say:
Too small.
God says:
For what?
A sling is too small for a giant.
A mustard seed is too small for a mountain.
An ant is too small to teach a human.
Nazareth is too insignificant for anything world-changing.
A ukulele is too…well…
plink-plink-plink
…to carry the praise of Almighty God?
And suddenly your title becomes the argument.
“You take the simple and small and make fools of us all.”
I really like that opening. It establishes that the problem isn’t smallness.
It’s our measuring system.
That connects beautifully with yesterday’s Underestimated. There we had people walking around with their value sticks, measuring Zacchaeus and deciding who deserved the party.
Today God appears to take the measuring stick away and whack us over the head with a ukulele.
“You’re still measuring?”
And I particularly like that the examples aren’t all miraculous in the same way.
David’s sling — small instrument.
Mustard seed — small faith.
Ant — small creature.
Nazareth — small place.
Ukulele — small voice/instrument of praise.
So the song shouldn’t culminate in “small things can become big.” That’s motivational-poster territory.
Your final line says something much better:
“You are the Maker of significance.”
Ah.
Significance isn’t proportional to size.
That’s the song.
I think the line I’d keep from this version is:
“I don’t need to make it significant. You do that.”
Because that protects the song from becoming:
Believe in yourself! Small beginnings become huge successes!
That’s not what David teaches.
It’s certainly not what Nazareth teaches.
God can make something significant without ever making it culturally impressive.
That’s important for the ukulele too. The uke doesn’t need to transform into an enormous electric guitar halfway through the song to vindicate itself.
Let the little thing remain little.
And praise God with it.
Actually, I’d be tempted to make Mureka commit to the joke: start with an almost embarrassingly naked ukulele. No cinematic strings rescuing it immediately. No giant bass.
plink.
plink-plink.
Then the vocal:
Consider the sling…
And gradually the production realizes what the listener hasn’t yet:
Uh-oh. God has picked another little thing.
By the time Nazareth arrives, perhaps everything gets enormous—but that tiny uke keeps strumming right through the middle of it.
Because the song shouldn’t prove:
Small things were secretly big all along.
It should prove:
They were small.
God knew.
He chose them anyway.
And after our shortest guy took the shortest route up a tree last night, apparently the 182 has decided to spend another day making fun of our rulers.