There was once a violinist who played in an orchestra. His name was Marcello. He was an excellent violinist, and he soon left the ranks of the second violins to sit among the first violins.

He had studied many years under the best teachers, and he had always been careful to follow their advice and instructions in order to develop his talent in the best possible way. When he had auditioned for the orchestra the selectioners had quickly recognized the benefits of seating him among their musicians.

The resident conductor and all the guest conductors so far had been unanimous in their opinion that he should be moved forwards when one of the first violinists retired. When it was rumoured that the lead violinist was considering a better-paying position with another orchestra, everyone assumed that Marcello would succeed him.

And so it came to be, that Marcello became concertmaster of the orchestra. And that was his downfall.

The principal first violinist of an orchestra holds a position of prestige. He sets the tone for the whole orchestra, and is second in importance only to the conductor. In fact, when he appears as soloist, he actually sets the pace more than the conductor.

Marcello was a model first violinist—at first.

After some time and much acclaim, however, Marcello began to strut. His talent was no longer a gift to be shared for the pleasure of others. It became a tool for his own advancement. The more the critics raved about him, the worse Marcello's condition became.

Soon he began stinting on his practice sessions. Someone as good as he should not need to practise as much as others! Thus his tone and technique slowly began to slide.

When it came to performances with the orchestra, Marcello decided that he didn't need to keep an eye on the conductor—he would play the music as he felt it should be played, and the conductor would just lead the other musicians to fit in with him. After all, that was what he did when he played as soloist. Why shouldn't it apply at other times as well?

Then came the time when the orchestra was to give a Royal Command Performance, an honour not to be scorned!

Rehearsals were disastrous. Marcello and the conductor kept having heated arguments and the rest of the orchestra fumed at so much wasted time. The conductor wondered whether perhaps he ought to suggest to the board that they get a new concertmaster. The big concert was only just around the corner, though. There was no time to rehearse with a new lead violinist.

The big night came and Marcello was sure this would be the night when he was declared the best violinist in the world. He was so sure about this that he skipped his practice session entirely and had dinner out instead, to celebrate.

The symphony started off well enough, with all the musicians playing in their best form. Halfway through the first movement, however, those in the audience who were alert noticed that all was not as it should be. The lead violinist's bow was up when all the other violinists had their bows down, and his bow glided down when theirs slid up.

One of the first violinists happened to notice this state of affairs out of the corner of his eye, and adjusted his bowing to fit in with Marcello's. During a long series of rests, he nudged his neighbour and whispered that his bowing was out. The conductor glimpsed that something was afoot among the first violinists and he raised an eyebrow at them in warning. Marcello didn't see it, but the other man did.

As the violins came back into the symphony after their prolonged silence there was a sudden murmur from the startled audience. The first violinists were now in danger of complete disarray, with some following the conductor and others following Marcello. The latter was lost in his own interpretation of the piece and was quite oblivious to the impending disaster of which he was the cause.

The second violins became confused as the some of the first violins lost their places in the score. The cellos, catching a hint of the change in the music, also became mixed up. The first movement of the symphony finished on a discord, and the conductor glared at the first violins.

The second movement began. All went well for the first ten measures, and then the fun began again. The conductor did his best to catch Marcello's attention surreptitiously, to no avail. This time the flutes and the violas joined in the genral confusion, and by the middle of the movement no-one would have known what was being played if they didn't have a programme sheet to tell them.

Marcello kept going, his bowing throwing the whole orchestra into chaos—for now even the triangle had lost its cues—and the conductor's hair was almost visibly going grey with fright at the nightmare he was facing.

That was the last time Marcello played in public. The entire performance had been captured live on video and the board made Marcello sit and squirm through a replay of the whole thing, from the moment when the first note of the symphony was struck, through the howling, laughter, and anger of the audience, to the point when the conductor burst into tears as he ran off the stage before the end of the piece.

Thus it is when the pastors and elders of the church decide to go their own way instead of obeying the Conductor, and lead others to follow their example instead of the Conductor's baton. At first, all seems well as only one person ignores God's clear teaching. But then others start to doubt God too, and follow the first person. After some time the church is in chaos, with everyone doing their own thing and ignoring God's appeals to turn back to His way. The audience of the world looks on, and their howls of derision, their laughter at what they see as a farce, and their anger at the hypocrisy they are witnessing, only underline the disaster that is taking place.

Beware, pastors and elders, of not following God's conducting. Beware of thinking you are so good that you can neglect your time studying His Word or praying. Beware of thinking that you've reached the point where you can play the lead violin without looking at the conductor!