Lenses and Microphones

I used to be a big gear head when it came to video. I loved cameras and, whatever was new, I was educated on. It was an exciting world to follow as there was always something better coming out, particularly when it came to making digital video look more like movies. Being big into filmmaking at the time, I couldn't get enough of it.

Taken while shooting The Shaolin Monk of Chinatown. Photo by Peter Harmon.

But then people starting shooting on DSLR cameras with interchangeable lenses, and it kind of shifted the game. Sure, the camera bodies were changing and updating and upgrading, but what has always affected the look of an image the most is the lens. Take an awesome camera with a crappy lens and it still won't look great. Vice versa would at least be an interesting photo, if not something actually good.

Years later, I got into music and started investing in production gear. I would say that with a lot of audio gear, the same can be true, particularly in the world of digital products, i.e. - plug-ins. There is always some new plug-in for your software that promises to "change the game" and make everything so much easier or better or sound like a big studio (this was the last one that suckered me in with its marketing). But go into any studio and you're likely to find some microphones that are sometimes decades old that still sound amazing.

Tracking "Two Palm Trees" & "Golden Coast Summertime" at my friend Noel's studio. He has great gear that lasts (some of which he sells).

In all of this, it proves that there are things that are time-tested and worth your investment, not subject to the advancement in technology or the whims of culture and what happens to be popular.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

Life is the same, isn't it? There are things worth investing in and others that aren't. According to Jesus, "treasures in heaven" seem to be the "microphones and lenses" of our lives (if you'll go along with my analogy). These are the things that will last, that will make your life better for the long haul, even into eternity. 

But what are treasures in heaven, exactly? Let's look at what Jesus says after those previous verses:

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Matthew 6:24)

And then after that, he tells us not to worry about clothes or food, and that God will provide those things if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

"So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:31-33)

Apparently, when our primary concern is doing work towards God's kingdom and seeking to be more like Jesus (who perfectly lived God's righteousness), then we'll be investing in that kingdom; or buying the "lenses and microphones" instead of the here-today-gone-tomorrow plug-ins.

"This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:22-24)

So the righteousness we seek, this worthy investment, is faith in Jesus. Nice.

And what does it mean to seek the "his kingdom?" Jesus spoke often about the "kingdom of heaven," mostly through parables (I found a consolidated list here, for your convenient perusal). I would encourage you to do your own study on these, read them, learn them and sit with them. That alone is at least the beginning of your worthwhile investment.