Little Drummer Boy

This final Christmas post was written by my sister, Sabrina. 'The Little Drummer Boy' is one of my favorite songs and Christmas stories!

The Lesson of the Little Drummer Boy

Perhaps one of the most beloved Christmas tunes in the Christian circle is The Little Drummer Boy. Over the years, the story has taken many shapes and forms to tell more about the Tiny Musician. But no matter how many different versions of the tale there are, the single most important part of the legend remains the same; namely, the simple gift of love.

The drummer boy appears at the scene of the Nativity and realizes that he, a poor lad, had nothing to give the King of kings. But instead of hiding away to avoid the embarrassment, instead of showing ingratitude, the Tiny Drummer chose to give a part of himself to the Infant King. “Shall I play for you . . . on my drum?”

Reflecting upon this aspect of the drummer boy, he teaches a virtue worthy of imitation. The lesson which is shown above is giving ourselves in disinterested love to God, using the talents He gave us to praise Him. It is not said whether the drummer played well- only that he did his best. Why did he do his best? What was in it for him? A pat on the back from the Messiah for playing so well? – No. The Tiny Musician played to give the only thing he had as a gift from pure love.

Talents are a part of a person. In most cases, a person becomes passionate about his talent. So much so that it becomes a part of him and when he uses it, he is giving a piece of himself with it. Our Lord Himself even told the importance of cultivating talents in His parable about the three servants and the talents distributed to them. One was given five; he used them in his lord’s interest and made five more. The second was given two but made use of them and gained two more, but the last hid his one and it remained dormant. The master was upset with the servant because of the servant’s ingratitude for the talent. The servant had not even tried to cultivate it.

So the Little Drummer boy used his talent as a gift to God. He gave himself to God in the simple tune that he played to the infant King. He gave God his best. The Little Drummer Boy invites all of mankind to play with him to the Infant not only at Christmas but in the everyday life so that man may sing with him “and He smiled at me . . . me and my drum.”