Once there was an old monk who sang the Christmas song every Christmas Eve. His voice was ugly, but he loved the Lord very much and always sang from his heart. One day the head of the cloister said, “I’m sorry, Brother Don, but we have a new monk arrived who has a truly beautiful voice… he will sing the Christmas song for us this year.”
The man sang so beautifully that everyone was happy.
But that night an Angel of the Lord came to the superior and said, “Why didn’t you have the Christmas Eve song this year?” The superior answered, “We had a beautiful song.” But the Angel said sadly, “We did not hear it in Heaven.”
You see, the young man sang for his own benefit and praise, but the old monk had a personal relationship with Jesus and sang to Him from his heart…for God’s glory and not his own!
(Source Unknown)
